Blow, Ye Winds
Hymnal Index | Ship's Company Website

Blow, ye winds in the morning, blow, ye winds, high-ho
Clear away your running gear, And blow, boys, blow.

'Tis advertised in Boston, New York and Buffalo,
Five hundred brave Americans a-whaling for to go, singing,

They send you to New Bedford, that famous whaling port,
And give you some land-sharks to board and fit you out.

They send you to a boarding house, there for a time to dwell;
The thieves they there are thicker than the other side of hell!

They tell you of the clipper ships a-going in and out,
And say you'll take five hundred sperm before you're six months out.

It's now we're out to sea, my boys, the wind comes on to blow;
One half the watch is sick on deck, the other half below.

The Skipper's on the quarterdeck a-squinting at the sails,
When up aloft the lookout sights a school of whales.

"Now clear away the boats, my boys, and after him we'll travel,
But if you get too near his fluke, he'll kick you to the devil!"

Now we have got him turned up, we tow him alongside;
We over with our blubber hooks, and rob him of his hide.

But now that our old ship is full and we don't give a damn,
We'll bend on all our stu'nsails and sail for Yankee land.

When we get home, our ship made fast,
And we get through our sailing,

A winding glass around we'll pass
And damn this blubber whaling!