Greenland Whale Fisheries
Whaling Tales: Brave Voyages and Bitter Losses
Lyrics
In eighteen hundred and forty-six
In the year 1846
And of March the eighteenth day,
On March 18th
We hoisted our colors to the top of the mast
Raised our flag to the mast's top
And for Greenland sailed away, brave boys,
Sailed away for Greenland
And for Greenland sailed away.
Reiteration of the departure for Greenland
The lookout in the crosstrees stood
The lookout, using a spyglass, spots a whale
With spyglass in his hand;
With a spyglass in hand, observing the sea
There's a whale, there's a whale,
Announces the sighting of a whale
And a whalefish he cried
The whale is blowing water vapor
And she blows at every span, brave boys
Repetition of the whale blowing
She blows at every span.
Reiteration of the whale's blowing
The captain stood on the quarter deck,
The captain is on the quarterdeck
The ice was in his eye;
Expressing determination despite challenging conditions
Overhaul, overhaul! Let your gibsheets fall,
Command to release the sails and launch boats
And you'll put your boats to sea, brave boys
Encouragement to send boats to the sea
And you'll put your boats to sea.
Reiteration of sending boats to the sea
Our harpoon struck and the line played out,
Harpoon strikes, and the whale pulls the line
With a single flourish of his tail,
The whale overturns the boat, resulting in five casualties
He capsized the boat and we lost five men,
Loss of men due to the whale's actions
And we did not catch the whale, brave boys,
The whale escapes
And we did not catch the whale.
Reiteration of the whale's escape
The losing of those five jolly men,
Regret for the loss of the five men
It grieved the captain sore,
The captain is deeply saddened
But the losing of that fine whalefish
Greater sorrow for losing the whale
Now it grieved him ten times more, brave boys
Intensified grief for losing the whale
Now it grieved him ten times more.
Reiteration of the intensified grief
Oh Greenland is a barren land
Greenland is described as a barren land
A land that bares no green
Highlighting the lack of greenery in Greenland
Where there's ice and snow, and the whalefishes blow
Depiction of icy and snowy conditions, with whales blowing
And the daylight's seldom seen, brave boys
Reference to the infrequent daylight in Greenland
And the daylight's seldom seen.
Reiteration of the scarcity of daylight in Greenland
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