Song Ambassador
Salt Sea Singers
Origin
Aotearoa / New Zealand
Time Period
possibly turn of 20th century
Song Type
Ballad
Welcome to the 2024 Sea Song Showdown fundraiser. We’re singing our hearts out to raise money for our educational and interpretive programs at the Maritime Museum of BC!
To put the “fun” in “fundraiser”, we’re showcasing eight classic sea songs performed by maritime organizations in weekly matchups until 24 June; follow along on our blog and social media to see which sea song is this year’s favourite. All campaign proceeds go directly to support our programs, but you can let us know which sea song inspired your donation by voting each week.
The Salt Sea Singers present this favourite sea song–not actually a shanty, as it was not used during work on ships–about coastal whalers waiting for agents and supply ships run by large companies to bring goods. The whalers were paid in goods, not currency, so these supply ships were vital. The Weller Company was only one such company, but colloquially agents began to be referred to as wellermen.
The Lyrics
There are many versions and arrangements for this song. We’re using these lyrics:
There once was a ship that put to sea
The name of the ship was the Billy O’
Tea
The winds blew up, her bow dipped
down
Oh blow, my bully boys, blow (huh)
Chorus:
Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguing is done
We’ll take our leave and go
She’d not been two weeks from shore
When down on her a right whale bore
The captain called all hands and swore
He’d take that whale in tow (huh)
Chorus
Before the boat had hit the water
The whale’s tail came up and caught her
All hands to the side, harpooned and
fought her
When she dived down low (huh)
Chorus
No line was cut, no whale was freed
The captain’s mind was not of greed
And he belonged to the Whaleman’s
creed
She took that ship in tow (huh)
Chorus
For forty days or even more
The line went slack then tight once more
All boats were lost, there were only four
But still that whale did go (huh)
Chorus
As far as I’ve heard, the fight’s still on
The line’s not cut, and the whale’s not
gone
The Wellerman makes his regular call
To encourage crew and all (huh)
From the Darn It! Our Maritime Make and Mend Culture exhibit:
The art of scrimshaw began with the whaling industry in New England in the world 18th century. While people had been carving ivory for much longer, scrimshaw traditionally refers to the etching of an image onto the tooth of a sperm whale which is then revealed through the application of India ink. The whaling industry migrated to the west coast in the 19th century, bringing scrimshaw with it. Although by the strictest definitions, scrimshaw could only be made with polished whale teeth, whalers were not limited in their creativity, making a large variety of decorative items with what they had in abundance–whale bones.
Photo: MMBC Collection 993.021.0001. Tin ladle for blubber.
