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