Pot'ead Song, The

DESCRIPTION: "It was August the tenth, nineteen fifty-five, The men gathered together like bees in the hive" to harvest the "pot'eads" (whales) in Trinity Bay. Their techniques are described, and the whalers themselves, including author Woodman, short and with a hump
AUTHOR: Aubrey John Woodman (source: Cox-FolkMusicInANewfoundlandOutport)
EARLIEST DATE: 1975 (Cox-FolkMusicInANewfoundlandOutport)
KEYWORDS: whaler moniker
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Cox-FolkMusicInANewfoundlandOutport, pp. 51-53, "The Pot'ead Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES [82 words]: According to StoryKirwinWiddowson, p. 389, a "pot-head" is a "Northern pilot whale (Globicephala melaena)" -- the whale known as "blackfish" in the United States. The term was in use from 1863.Young, p. 137, reports that "Up until 1972 potheads were hunted in Newfoundland and Labrador for their meat, which was mostly exported to fur farms. The most common method of taking potheads was to drive them ashore in groups. Almost always found in groups, potheads are very playful and vocal." - RBW
Bibliography

StoryKirwinWiddowson: G. M. Story, W. J. Kirwin, and J. D. A. Widdowson, editors, Dictionary of Newfoundland English, second edition with supplement, Breakwater Pres, 1990
Young: Ron Young, Dictionary of Newfoundland and Labrador, Downhome Publishing Inc

Last updated in version 4.3
File: CoxN051

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