Name: Soon may the Wellerman come...
Duration: P00H03M13S
Description: From 1833 onwards, the wellermen, ships owned by Weller Brothers of Sydney, supplied provisions to New Zealand whaling stations. This sea shanty, written around 1860/70 comes from that time.

Soon may the Wellerman come...

by Michael Mills

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Monster within, Living in a Wonderland, Out of the Egg, Koala Bob is on the loose, The Big Songbook of Pirates, Soon may the Wellerman come..., Santa's Christmas Dream, and A Snail and a Jellyfish. , and , .

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about

From 1833 onwards, the wellermen, ships owned by Weller Brothers of Sydney, supplied provisions to New Zealand whaling stations. This sea shanty, written around 1860/70 comes from that time.

lyrics

Soon may the Wellerman come...

There was a ship that put to sea,
The name of the ship was the Billy of Tea ,
The winds blew up, her bow dipped down,
O blow, my bully boys, blow.

Soon may the Wellerman come ,
And bring us sugar and tea and rum.
One day, when the tonguin' is done,
We'll take our leave and go.   (Repeat after each verse)

She had 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.
 
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 below.  

No line was cut, no whale was freed;
The Captain's mind was not of greed,
But he belonged to the whaleman's creed;
She took the ship in tow.  

For forty days, or even more,
The line went slack, then tight once more.
 All boats were lost (there were only four),
But still the whale did go.
 
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 the Captain, crew, and all.

credits

released January 4, 2021
Arranged, produced and performed by Michael Mills.

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about

Michael Mills Adelaide, Australia

Michael Mills is a writer, producer and performer, and has written dozens of shows. He has also recorded multiple albums, as himself, and as several other alter egos, including Professor Flint and Bluegum Bill

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