“The Greenland Whale Fishery”

Description

The singer and his companions (are forced by poverty to) sign on a whaler. They spot a whale. The whale is harpooned, but sinks the boat and escapes. Five crewmen are killed. The captain regrets the loss of whale and/or crew. At last they leave Greenland

Notes

[Lloyd cites a blackletter printing of this piece from before 1725.]

In 1830, the English whaling fleet moved from the right-whale grounds off Greenland to Baffin Bay, and thence to the grounds off Hawaii and Peru. The whalers' songs nonetheless continued to refer to the Greenland grounds. - PJS

Cross references

• cf. "The Barrack's Song" (form)

Broadsides

• Bodleian, 2806 c.17(160), "Greenland Whale Fishery" ("In eighteen-hundred and twenty-three"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Firth c.13(67), Firth c.13(68), Firth c.13(69), Firth c.13(71), Harding B 11(90), Harding B 11(3307), Harding B 11(958), Harding B 25(778), "Greenland Whale Fishery"

Recordings

• Almanac Singers, "Greenland Fishing" (Rec. 1941, unissued at the time; on AlmanacCD1)
• David Pryor: "When the Whale Get Strike" [fragment] (AAFS 512 A1, 1935; on LomaxCD1822-2)
• Pete Seeger, "The Greenland Whalers" (on PeteSeeger10)

References

1. Laws K21, "The Greenland Whale Fishery"
2. Belden, pp. 104-105, "The Greenland Whale Fishery" (1 text)
3. Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 9-10, "The Whalefish Song" (1 text, 1 tune, without reference to the drowned men); pp. 11-12
4. Colcord, pp. 151-152, "Greenland Fishery" (1 text, 1 tune)
5. Harlow, pp. 223-227, "The Whale," "The Greenland Whale" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
6. Leach, pp. 707-708, "The Greenland Whale Fishery" (1 text)
7. Peacock, pp. 147-148, "Whaling Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
8. Karpeles-Newfoundland 42, "The Greenland Fishery" (1 text, 1 tune)
9. Friedman, p. 401, "The Greenland Whale Fishery" (1 text, 1 tune)
10. OBB 169, "The Greenland Fishery" (1 text)
11. FSCatskills 95, "Bound for the Stormy Main" (1 text, 1 tune)
12. PBB 81, "The Greenland Whale" (1 text)
13. Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 50-51, "The Greenland Whale Fishery" (1 text, 1 tune)
14. Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 122-123, "The Whale" (1 text, 1 tune, plus a fragment from _Moby Dick_ which may well be derived from this song)
15. Scott-BoA, pp. 142-144, "The Greenland Whale Fishery" (1 text, 1 tune)
16. Lomax-FSNA 32, "The Greenland Whale Fishery" (1 text, 1 tune)
17. Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 832-833, "Greenland Fishery" (1 text, 1 tune)
18. Silber-FSWB, p. 94, "Greenland Fisheries" (1 text)
19. DT 321, GREENLAN* GRENLAN2* GRNFISH* GRENFIS4*
20. Roud #347
21. BI, LK21