Whaleman's Lament, The

DESCRIPTION: "'Twas on the briny ocean On a whaleship I did go; Oft times I thought of distant friends...." The singer relates the voyage around Cape Horn and describes how Captain and officers abuse the crew. He vows to go sailing no more.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1856 (Journal from the Catalpa)
KEYWORDS: whaler hardtimes abuse
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Huntington-SongsTheWhalemenSang, pp. 15-17, "The Whaleman's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
Tod-WhalingInSouthernWaters, p. 124, "The Whaleman's Lament" (1 text)
Roud #2000
RECORDINGS:
A.L. Lloyd, "The Whaleman's Lament" (on Lloyd9)
NOTES [42 words]: Huntington does not indicate what tune he used for this song; perhaps he made it up. (He can hardly have used a tune from other versions of this song, since he doesn't list any.) The metrical form, however, strongly suggests "Jim Jones at Botany Bay." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.5
File: SWMS015

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