There once was a ship that put to see And the name of that ship was the Billy of Tea The winds blew hard and her bow dipped down Blow, my bully boys blow She had not been two weeks from shore When down on her, a right whale bore The captain called all hands and swore He'd take that whale in tow Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum One day when the tonguing is done We'll take our leave and go Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum One day when the tonguing is done We'll take our leave and go ♪ For 40 days or even more The line went slack, then tight once more All boats were lost, there were only four But still that whale must go And as far as I've heard, the fight's still on The line's not cut and the whale's not gone The Wellerman makes his regular calls To encourage the captain's crew and all Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum One day when the tonguing is done We'll take our leave and go Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum One day when the tonguing is done We'll take our leave and go ♪ Take our leave and go (he-yah!)