Lyr Req/Add: The Balaena / Balena / Ballina

Subject: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Paul Kennedy
Date: 25 Jun 97 - 09:06 AM

Does anyone have or know where I may find the lyrics to 'Balaena'? It would be greatly appreciated.'

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Wolfgang Hell
Date: 26 Jun 97 - 05:04 AM

is this then one you are looking for?

THE BALENA

(from: The Scottish Folksinger)

1. Oh the noble fleet of whalers out sailing from Dundee,
well manned by British sailors to work them on the sea;
on the Western Ocean passage none with them can compare
for there's not a ship could make the trip as the Balena I declare.

Ch: And the wind is on her quarter and her engine working free...

Should I go on typing or is "Baleana" a different song from "Balena"? Yours Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Barry Finn
Date: 26 Jun 97 - 11:34 AM

From A L Lloyd: "Leviathan, Songs & Ballads Of The Whaling Trade". The song refers to the hunting of the right & sperm whales around the Baffin Bay area in the 1870's. In 1857 the first whaling steamer set out from Hull. The most famous steamers were those from Dundee, including the Balaena. Buy the 1880's the right whale in the Arctic were to scarce to bother with. Captain Gray of the Eclipse instituted the hunting of the Bottlenose, while the Balaena went looking for new whaling grounds in Antarctic, finding plenty of Finn whales in 1893, but without the harpoon cannon (invented 1860, not used widly for the next 20 yrs.), couldn't catch the swift Finn & Blue. The 1890's saw the wide use of the cannon and in the Antarctic and took the Blue & Finn by the thousands. The cannon was the death nell to the old hand harpooning Moby Dick days. The old songs were still sung, but less, and no new ones of any power were made up. Hope this is of intrest. Barry

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Paul
Date: 26 Jun 97 - 01:06 PM

Wolfgang, that is the song I mean. I would greatly appreciate the rest of the lyrics. Thanks

Subject: Lyr Add: BALAENA
From: Barry Finn
Date: 26 Jun 97 - 11:49 PM

It happened on a Tuesday, three days out of Dundee.
The gale took off her quarter boat and a couple of men, you see.
It battered at her bulwarks, her stanchions and her rails,
And left the old Balaena, boys, a-frothing in the gale.

CHORUS: Oh, the wind is on her quarter, her engines working free.
There's not another whaler that sails out of Dundee
Can beat the old Balaena. She needs no trial run.
And we challenged all, both great and small, from Dundee to St. John.

Bold Jackman cut his canvas and fairly raised his steam,
And Captain Guy with Erin Boy was ploughing through the stream,
And the noble Terra Nova her boilers nearly burst,
And still at the old whaling grounds, Balaena got there first.

And now the season's over and the ship half full of oil.
Our flying jib boom points for home towards our native soil.
And when that we have landed, boys, where the rum is very cheap,
We'll drink success to the skipper's health for getting us over the deep.

Barry

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Wolfgang Hell
Date: 27 Jun 97 - 05:03 AM

I see that Barry has taken care of your demand, Paul, and I assume that his version's far closer to the original one than my version with all the background information he has provided but I'll type the version from The Scottish Folksinger nevertheless, since it has one more verse and might be closer to a recorded version of today (I have never encountered this song either sung or recorded by the way).

Here it goes (I stick to the "Balena" from my source but I doubt it's correct)

THE BALENA

(from: The Scottish Folksinger)

1. Oh the noble fleet of whalers out sailing from Dundee,
well manned by British sailors to work them on the sea;
on the Western Ocean passage none with them can compare
for there's not a ship could make the trip as the Balena I declare.

Ch: And the wind is on her quarter and her engine working free,
and there's no other sailer a-sailing from Dundee
can beat the aul' Balena and you needna try her on,
for we challenge all both large and small from Dundee to St. Johns.

2. And it happened on a thursday four days after we left Dundee,
was carried off the quarter boats all in a raging sea,
that took away our bulwark, our stanchions and our rails,
and left the whole concern, boys, a-floating in the gales.

3. There's the new built Terra Nova, she's a model with no doubt,
there's the Arctic and the Aurora, you've heard so much about,
there's Jacklin's model mail-boat, the terror of the sea
couldn't beat the aul' Balena, boys, on a passage from Dundee.

4. Bold Jacklin carries canvas and fairly raises steam
and Captain Guy's a daring boy, goes ploughing through the stream,
but Mallan says the Eskimo could beat the blooming lot,
but to beat the aul' Balena, boys, they find it rather hot.

5. And now that we have landed, boys, where the rum is mighty cheap,
we'll drink success to Captain Burnett, lads, for getting us ower [sic] the deep,
and a health to all our sweethearts, an' to our wives so fair,
not another ship could make that trip but the Balena I declare.

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Paul Kennedy
Date: 27 Jun 97 - 04:13 PM

Thanks guys for your help. I have found one recording of Belaena buy a group called Hal An How. I don't know the name of the their album for the recording I got came from a cd called 'A Taste of the Maritimes'. Thanks.

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Nov 01 - 01:09 PM

Refresh

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Nov 01 - 01:11 PM

Refresh!

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Joan from Wigan
Date: 16 Nov 01 - 02:51 AM

A forum search on "balena" brought up two other threads as well as this one: The Old Polina and LYR: Mamma mia dammi cento lire

The second link is to a completely different song, but if I read the translation correctly, "la balena" is Italian for "the whale". A Scottish ship with an Italian name?...

Barry Finn's words above are almost the same as the version I learned in the late sixties. Charley, were you after anything specific in reviving this thread?

Joan

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 18 Nov 01 - 04:45 PM

Find a little more info on the history of the song here

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 18 Nov 01 - 07:41 PM

Joan - I refreshed the old thread for the benefit of someone who was requesting the song again.

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: Garry Gillard
Date: 19 Nov 01 - 12:11 AM

Thanks, everyone!

I've added a link to this thread to my page for Leviathan!

http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/~gillard/watersons/leviathan.html

Garry

Leviathan!

Subject: RE: Lryics to Balaena?
From: open mike
Date: 10 Feb 04 - 05:17 PM

Balena is spanish for whale too
(probably only refers to Baleen whales?
ones that strain plankton thru baleen
structures in their mouths--they do not
eat large critters...and do not swallow
big things like Jonah)
Marine mammals (whales, dolphins, and porpoises)belong to the Order Cetacea (from the Greek word 'cetus' which means whale), has two living suborders: Odontoceti (toothed whales) and Mysticeti (baleen whales)and
one extinct sub-order: Archaeoceti (ancient whales)

this is not on the topic, but is much more so than the previous post!
trawling for whale info, not into harpooning the critters themselves!