Wellerman

El Ballenero

Wellerman

Un barco una vez quiso navegar
There once was a ship that put to sea
Y su nombre era la tetera del mar
And the name of that ship was the Billy of Tea
El viento sopló y su proa hundió
The winds blew hard, her bow dipped down
Remar, chicos a remar
Blow, my bully boys, blow

Pronto el ballenero vendrá
Soon may the Wellerman come
Y azúcar y té y ron traerá
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
Cuando cese nuestro cantar
One day, when the tonguin' is done
Será hora de zarpar
We'll take our leave and go

Tras una quincena en altamar
She had not been two weeks from shore
Con una ballena se fue a topar
When down on her a right whale bore
El capitán se hizo jurar
The captain called all hands and swore
Que caza le iba dar
He'd take that whale in tow

Pronto el ballenero vendrá
Soon may the wellerman come
Y azúcar y té y ron traerá
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
Cuando cese nuestro cantar
One day, when the tonguin' is done
Será hora de zarpar
We'll take our leave and go

Antes de golpear el mar
Before the boat had hit the water
La ballena emergió y la pudo atrapar
The whale's tail came up and caught her
Luchó con sus manos y un arpón
All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her
Pero la ballena huyó
When she dived down below

Pronto el ballenero vendrá
Soon may the wellerman come
Y azúcar y té y ron traerá
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
Cuando cese nuestro cantar
One day, when the tonguin' is done
Será hora de zarpar
We'll take our leave and go

La lucha sigue entre los dos
No line was cut, no whale was freed
Aunque el capitán no es fanfarrón
The captain's mind was not on greed
Su credo es tener valor
But he belonged to the whaleman's creed
Y a ella se aferró
She took the ship in tow

Pronto el ballenero vendrá
Soon may the Wellerman come
Y azúcar y té y ron traerá
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
Cuando cese nuestro cantar
One day, when the tonguin' is done
Será hora de zarpar
We'll take our leave and go

Cuarenta días pasan ya
For forty days, or even more
Y la justa no hace más que aumentar
The line went slack, then tight once more
No hay barcos en el más allá
All boats were lost, there were only four
Y ella no va a parar
But still that whale did go

Pronto el ballenero vendrá
Soon may the Wellerman come
Y azúcar y té y ron traerá
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
Cuando cese nuestro cantar
One day, when the tonguin' is done
Será hora de zarpar
We'll take our leave and go

Dicen las malas lenguas
As far as I've heard, the fight's still on
Que la batalla todavía sigue en pie
The line's not cut and the whale's not gone
Y el ballenero clamará
The Wellerman makes his regular call
¡Coraje al capitán!
To encourage the captain, crew and all

Pronto el ballenero vendrá
Soon may the wellerman come
Y azúcar y té y ron traerá
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
Cuando cese nuestro cantar
One day, when the tonguin' is done
Será hora de zarpar
We'll take our leave and go

Pronto el ballenero vendrá
Soon may the wellerman come
Y azúcar y té y ron traerá
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
Cuando cese nuestro cantar
One day, when the tonguin' is done
Será hora de zarpar
We'll take our leave and go