The Humpback Whale

Lyrics

[Verse 1] '56, I sailed on board A ship called Byron One She's carried trawler men on deck And a harpoon whaling gun A tractor for a whale winch And the ship's an old Fairmile Twin diesels turn the screws around And she'll whale a fine old style [Chorus] And oh, you trawler men, come on Forget your snapper and your prawn For it's out of Ballina we'll sail Fishing for the hump, the humpback whale [Verse 2] Keep a sharp lookout, my lads Or the whale he's on the run And we'll drive him into Byron Bay We'll shoot him with our gun The harpoon and the lines fly through Very deep into the whale And she split the timbers of the ship With a flurry of her tail [Chorus] And oh, you trawler men, come on Forget your snapper and your prawn For it's out of Ballina we'll sail Fishing for the hump, for the humpback whale [Verse 3] Rigging struts are snapped in two We reel beneath the blow And that gunner fires a killer shot That humpback's sent below Make her tail fast to the bows Oh, we got no time for bed For four-and-twenty hours each day We kept that factory fed [Chorus] And oh, you trawler men, come on Forget your snapper and your prawn For it's out of Ballina we'll sail Fishing for the hump (Hump), the humpback whale [Guitar Solo] [Verse 4] Flensing men upon the land Some had been jackaroos And they skin the blubber from the whale Like they're skinning kangaroos A hundred whales then fifty more Through the factory we did send Then the orders came to knock off, my lads Well, the season's at an end [Chorus] Oh, you trawler men, come on Forget your snapper and your prawn For it's out of Ballina we'll sail Fishing for the hump, for the humpback whale [Verse 5] Back into Ballina we steered Tied up and stowed the gear Then all hands headed for the pub Where we filled ourselves with beer [Chorus] And oh, you trawler men, come on Forget your snapper and your prawn For it's out of Ballina we'll sail Fishing for the hump, the humpback whale [Guitar Solo]