The day we went to catch the whale

Oh the ropes were singing in our hands

The soap suds were a rubbing

Upon the decks with our arms and hands

The planks and boards a scrubbing

Gleaming were the gunwales

Taught strung our bright sails

On that morning it was all aboard

The day we went to catch a whale

Oh laddie, bet your britches daddy

Get harpoon and fork or spoon

We're off to land a baddy

Oh Mammy, you sent him off your Sammy

Now he's aboard with a scope and swore he spied a tail

The day we went to catch the whale

As we put out the salty locks

Of seaweed slapped our faces

The flow tide from the Bristol docks

Put us through our paces

Then just between Flatholm and Steepholm

We saw the spraying traces

Of Whale flukes like Royal Dukes

Off to see the races

Oh laddie, bet your britches daddy

Get harpoon and fork or spoon

We're off to land a baddy

Oh Mammy, you sent him off your sonny

Now he's aboard with a scope and swore he spied a tail

We'll never got bored as the seagulls soared

The day we went to catch the whale

As we approached the whales broached

A certain conversation

They gave forth their spume and froth

Like every whale nation

But our boats answered back in a likewise forthright manner

And towed the line of harpoon twine

And rowed out to meet them tongs and hammer

Oh laddie, bet your britches daddy

Get harpoon and fork or spoon we're off to land a baddy

Upon the deck we craned our necks to be first to spy a tail

It all was all aboard, then sally forth

the day we went to catch a whale

The first mate threw his harpoon screw

And it skewered itself in

The Right whale's side but he couldn't abide

The whaleman's avaricious grin

The whale came in, the whale went out

It dove down and pulled us about

The whale went out and it came back in

The day we went to catch a whale

Back and forth the whale fought

In and out the harbour

Never better a whale man's sport

Than for something he must labour

Coming round the headland coming up the leas

We were nearly in Newfoundland

By the time he began to wheeze

Down he dove like a Jove

Then like a Jupiter ascending

He came back up and stove-in

our hull as if to him offending

The captain hopped upon his toes

The first mate danced a jig

To think of all the damaged blows

done to his precious rig

But the devilish whale never left the water

so we never did the tonguing and slaughter

But he beat his tail like a gale 

The day we went to catch a whale

Oh laddie, bet your britches daddy

Get harpoon and fork or spoon

We're off to land a baddy

Oh Mammy, you sent him off your Sammy

Now he's aboard with a scope and swore he spied a tail

We'll never get bored as the seagulls soared

The day we went to catch the whale

He towed us back to Bristol docks

And round the rocks of Portishead

In ebb tide we nearly died upon the estuary bed

But the flood of new blood lifted us from our slumber

The whale now freed from seaweed towed on his lumber

Upon the pier, a crowd appeared to cheer us on our return

Seeing our sorry manner they took down their banner to burn

The whales eye did seem to spy our state of poor appraisal

And enjoyed how he had toyed with us by his fierce assail

But his was a tale of a fluke not a fail, for safe back home we'd sailed

And no one railed but drank deep his ale

They day we went to catch the whale

Oh laddie, bet your britches daddy

Get harpoon and fork or spoon

We're off to land a baddy

Oh Mammy, you sent him off your Sammy

Now he's aboard with a scope and swore he spied a tail

We'll never get bored as the seagulls soared

The day we went to catch the whale