The Humpback Whale

[Verse 1]
'56, I sailed on board
A ship called Byron One
She's carried trawler men on deck
And a harpoon whaling gun
A tractor for a whale winch
And the ship's an old Fairmile
Twin diesels turn the screws around
And she'll whale a fine old style

[Chorus]
And oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the hump, the humpback whale

[Verse 2]
Keep a sharp lookout, my lads
Or the whale he's on the run
And we'll drive him into Byron Bay
We'll shoot him with our gun
The harpoon and the lines fly through
Very deep into the whale
And she split the timbers of the ship
With a flurry of her tail

[Chorus]
And oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the hump, for the humpback whale

[Verse 3]
Rigging struts are snapped in two
We reel beneath the blow
And that gunner fires a killer shot
That humpback's sent below
Make her tail fast to the bows
Oh, we got no time for bed
For four-and-twenty hours each day
We kept that factory fed

[Chorus]
And oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the hump (Hump), the humpback whale

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 4]
Flensing men upon the land
Some had been jackaroos
And they skin the blubber from the whale
Like they're skinning kangaroos
A hundred whales then fifty more
Through the factory we did send
Then the orders came to knock off, my lads
Well, the season's at an end

[Chorus]
Oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the hump, for the humpback whale

[Verse 5]
Back into Ballina we steered
Tied up and stowed the gear
Then all hands headed for the pub
Where we filled ourselves with beer

[Chorus]
And oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the hump, the humpback whale

[Guitar Solo]