Wellerman

artist:The Longest Johns

, writer:traditional

Song Info

Title: Wellerman

Artist: The Longest Johns

Writer: traditional

Song Types: Shanty

Key: Am

Info: "Soon May the Wellerman Come", also known as "Wellerman" (c.1860�"70) is a well-known whaling song. The song frequently refers to the "wellermen", supply ships owned by the English Weller brothers who emigrated to New Zealand. The song's content has drawn praise as "a genuine cultural expression by exploited workers for whom 'sugar and tea and rum' provided a much-needed respite from the drudgery and toil of their daily lives". In 2020 and 2021, versions by British folk music group the Longest Johns and musician Nathan Evans became unlikely viral hits on the social media site TikTok, leading to a "social media craze" around "sea shanties

The song's lyrics describe a whaling ship called the "Billy o' Tea" and its hunt for a right whale. The song describes how the ship's crew hope for a "wellerman" (an employee of the Weller brothers, who owned ships that brought provisions to New Zealand whalers) to arrive and bring them supplies of luxuries, with the chorus stating "soon may the wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum." According to the song's listing on the website New Zealand Folk Song, "the workers at these bay-whaling stations (shore whalers) were not paid wages, they were paid in slops (ready made clothing), spirits and tobacco." In the whaling industry in 19th-century New Zealand, the Weller brothers owned ships that would sell provisions to whaling boats. The chorus continues with the crew singing of their hope that "one day when the tonguin' is done we'll take our leave and go". "Tonguing" in this context refers to the practice of cutting strips of whale blubber to render into oil. Subsequent verses detail the captain's determination to bring in the whale in question, even as time passes and multiple whaling boats are lost in the struggle. In the last verse, the narrator describes how the Billy o' Tea is still locked in an ongoing struggle with the whale, with the wellerman making a "regular call" to encourage the captain and crew.

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Wellerman

artist:The Longest Johns

, writer:traditional

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