Anon has never done a cover of another song before. Nor has Anon ever been particularly known for following trends. Dedicated followers of fashion Anon is not. But there was something inherently punk about the explosion of this song by Scottish artist Nathan Evans. No copyright entanglements due to the folk roots of this traditional song, whose author is still and will likely forever be unknown. And the people made this song what it has become today. Sea shanties ruling the roost amid a sea of factory, identikit music certainly raises a smile.
I wanted to find out what the song was all about. What was the Billy o' Tea? Who was the Wellerman? What was tonguing...?
And that's when my interest really peaked. Here was a 'jolly' song about the hardships of life aboard a ship that was part of man's most dreadful acts of carnage. Whaling is sadly not confined to the history books. According to the WDC, "Commercial whaling was banned in 1986. However, Japan, Norway, and Iceland have killed nearly
40,000 large whales since then. Over 100,000 dolphins, small whales, and porpoises are also killed in various countries each year."
Here then, was a perfect opportunity to try and raise awareness of this terrible crime against nature. When does it end? When there are no more whales left in the sea? Seas that were once teeming with whales as far as the eye could see.
This is undoubtedly a darker take on the tune. But it's not an exercise in sucking the joy out of sea shanties and trends, I was just fascinated by the subject matter of this song and how whaling is worse now than it has been in years!
Ultimately, if Anon is going to break tradition and record a cover as well as getting in on the popular zeitgeist, then no point in doing things half-heartedly.
There once was a ship that put to sea
And the name of that ship was the Billy o' Tea
The winds blew hard, her bow dipped down
Blow, me bully boys, blow (huh)
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
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 (huh)
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
Interlude
Before the boat had hit the water
The whale's tail came up and caught her
All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her
When she dived down below (huh)
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
No line was cut, no whale was freed
An' the captain's mind was not on greed
But he belonged to the Whaleman's creed
She took that ship in tow (huh)
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
Interlude
For forty days or even more (ooh)
The line went slack then tight once more
All boats were lost, there were only four
And still that whale did 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
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 call
To encourage the captain, 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
credits
released February 6, 2021
Trad. arrangement by Anon
Featuring Gemsy Davison
Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Programming by Mike Spall
Recorded and Mixed by Mike Spall
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