There Am once was a ship that put to sea
And the Dm name of that ship was the Am Billy o’ Tea
The winds blew hard, her Dm bow dipped down
Dm Blow, me E7 bully boys, Am blow.

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F Soon may the C Wellerman come
To Dm bring us sugar and Am tea and rum
F One day, when the C tonguin’ is done
We’ll Dm take our E7 leave and Am go

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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.

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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.

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

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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

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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 a regular call
To encourage the Captain, crew, and all

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