The Antarctic Fleet

I went down south a-whaling, to the land of ice and snow

And eight-and-twenty pounds a month, was all I had to show

For being on a little ship like a sardine in a can

And eating salty pork and beef, they stewed up in a pan

Heigh-ho! Whale-oh! We're the Antarctic fleet

I’ve got a drip upon me nose and I’m frozen in the feet

South Georgia is an island, it is a Whaling Base

And only men in search of whales, would go to such a place

No entertainment does exist unless you make home brew

Then we would have some singing and, we’d have some fighting too

Heigh-ho! Whale-oh! We're the Antarctic fleet

I’ve got a drip upon me nose and I’m frozen in the feet

Our gunner came from Norway, like many of the crew

And others spoke wi’ Scottish tongues, as whalers often do

But when the ship was closing in to make the bloody kill

The Scotsmen and Norwegians worked, together with a will

Heigh-ho! Whale-oh! We're the Antarctic fleet

I’ve got a drip upon me nose and I’m frozen in the feet

We sailed down to the Weddell Sea, where the big Blues can be found

We chased between the icebergs and, we chased them round and round

And when they couldn’t run no more, and fought to draw their breath

Our gunner shot harpoons in them, ’til they floated still in death

Heigh-ho! Whale-oh! We're the Antarctic fleet

I’ve got a drip upon me nose and I’m frozen in the feet

For months we sailed the ocean, and wearied with the toil

Of slaughter and of killing just to get that smelly oil

And when the savage storms blew and snow kept falling down

I often wished that I was back, in dear old Glasgow town

Heigh-ho! Whale-oh! We're the Antarctic fleet

I’ve got a drip upon me nose and I’m frozen in the feet

It’s twenty years since I’ve been there, and I won’t go there again

I didn’t like the climate but, I liked the whaling men

And even in the sunshine now when I walk along the street

I’ve got a drip upon me nose, and I’ve still got frozen feet