Whaling Stories

Songs About Whales And Whaling

My Vocal friend Caroline published a story on whales that you can read below and it contains a poem and a trailer for “In The Heart Of The Sea”, and I thought maybe I could actually do a playlist of songs that have a whale or whaling connection.

Modern songs are almost all pro whale protection although “Don’t Kill The Whale” by Yes is an aberration that we could do without (don't get me wrong, I love most of Yes’ material with their classic line-ups but that song we could do without.

I put together a playlist and discovered a few great songs as well as including some absolute favourites, though I have probably missed many that should have been included, but I think ten is a decent decimal number for a playlist. You can listen to it here.

So here we go

1 - Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) by Mountain

A Nantucket sleighride is the dragging of a whaleboat by a harpooned whale while whaling. It is an archaic term from the early days of industrial whaling,

I first heard this song when it was used as the theme for ITV's "Weekend World" and eventually discovered it was by the band Mountain, probably their finest of many fine moments.

Owen Coffin, to whom the song is dedicated, was a young seaman on the Nantucket whaler Essex, which was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. In the aftermath of the wreck, Coffin was shot and eaten by his shipmates.

The story of the Essex was recorded by its First Mate Owen Chase, one of eight survivors, in his 1821 Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex.

The instrumental break in the second half of the track uses the melody of the traditional Scottish song "The Parting Glass".

The closing section of "Nantucket Sleighride" was used as the theme to the long-running British political television show Weekend World (1972-1988).

2 - Save the Whales by Country Joe McDonald

Country Joe was a major protest singer in the sixties, with his band the Fish (check out "Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag" ) this is one of many anti-whaling songs that you will hear on this playlist, and all owe something to traditional sea shanties in their form.

3 - Farewell To Tarwathie by Judy Collins

This is an absolutely achingly beautiful song composed and sung by the folk singer Judy Collins about someone leaving their home and family to hunt whales.

4 -The Whalers (Thar She Blows) by Alex Harvey - The New Band

Alex Harvey was one of the most commanding and impressive performers I have ever seen. After The Sensational Alex Harvey Band for one album, he formed The New Band before he tragically died,

One of many stunning songs on the album, similar in mood to "Nantucket Sleighride" by Mountain, but stands on it;s own as an absolute classic.

5 - The Humpback Whale by Nic Jones

A traditional song from the amazing "Penguin Eggs" by Nic Jones about hunting the Humpback Whale, about the dangers of whaling, but this is what the real hunters go for.

6 - Procol Harum - Whaling Stories

Procol Harum has been described as progressive with baroque and classical influences with Gary Brooker's music married to Keith Reid's lyrics, the band was apparently named after a cat.

"Whaling Stories" demonstrates their style perfectly and this is from their live album with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

7 - Last Great American Whale by Lou Reed

This song is almost a spoken story by Lou Reed, and seems incredibly slight, with a very simple tune, but it draws you into a wonderful story commenting on how little we value animal life.

8 - Greenland Whale Fisheries by Ger Loughlan

I found a version of this by the Pogues but this one by Ger Loughlan is more intimate and great fun, again about Whale Hunting played live in an Irish pub. Another traditional song.

9 - Queensland Whalers by Kevin Thompson

From KT - "A song from the pen of Harry Robertson and learnt by us from the singing of great Eric Bogle"

10 - The Song of the World's Last Whale by Pete Baldwin

This is the playlist finale, a Pete Seeger song performed by Pete Baldwin. The song is a warning and the video is very disturbing, maybe just listen to the words.

A Whaling Conclusion

I hope that Whaling is completely outlawed. Some of these songs were written when mankind knew no better.

We do now and we need to live with Whales not hunt them