Race To Be King

We left our sweethearts and our wives

Along the pier

‘Cheer up’ they said

‘You’ll soon return in half that year’

We sailed up north

To reach the ice

We took full sail

Each boat was manned with guns and rope

To hunt that whale

We know we’ll be fighting in this frost on our own

We’ll see no sight nor sound of our homes

Our lovers they’ll be waiting there ‘til spring

It’s a ramble and a race to be king

Now we’d been sailing a league or three

When we glimpsed that shore

The night was dark and won no hearts so we stayed on board

There fired a shot along our deck and down one side

It cracked our mast and swept in fast

Our bird she cried