We have two versions of "Call Me the Whale." I believe they were both taken from posts in this thread (click):

CALL ME THE WHALE
(Paul Kaplan)

Call me the whale for that's what I am
And that's what I am to be
You may call yourselves the kings of the land
But I am the king of the sea, brave boys
Yes I am the king of the sea

You came after me in your matchstick boats
With your harpoons poised for the kill
When I looked you in the eye I never saw you cry
But I know I gave you a chill, brave boys
I know that I gave you a chill.

But I didn't ever mean you any harm brave boys
When I sent you to the bottom with my tail
I only meant to show you that you should have been at home
Instead of on the ocean chasing whales brave boys
Instead of on the ocean chasing whales

But you never got the message and the more and more you came
Till I ran out of places to hide
When your boats got so big that I could not bring you down
Then I knew you had turned the tide brave boys
I knew you had turned the tide.

Now you hunt me down in your factory ships
And you never even touch me with your hands
In the morning I am playing with my babies in the waves
In the afternoon I'm packed into your cans brave boys
In the afternoon I'm packed into your cans

You've gotten so efficient with your implements of death
That by now I'm barely alive
But if you treat each other the way you've treated me
I think I'm going to survive brave boys
Yes I think I'm going to survive.

Here is the original version as sung by Paul Kaplan on his LP - "Life on the Pla
net" Copyright 1982 - Hummingbird Records 212 W.85St., New York, N.Y. 10024 Amherst, Mass.
Tune - The Greenland Whale Fisheries.

@animal @whale
filename[ GRENFIS5
YM



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CALL ME THE WHALE (2)
(Paul Kaplan)

They call me the whale, and that's what I am
and a whale I always will be.
You may call yourself the king of the land
But I am the king of the sea, brave boys
I am the king of the sea.

I never meant to do you any harm, brave boys,
When I took you to the bottom with my tail
I only meant to show you, that you should have been at home,
Instead of on the ocean chasing whales, brave boys,
Instead of on the ocean chasing whales

But you didn't get the message, and so more and more you came,
Till I ran out of places for to hide.
And your boats got so big that I couldn't take you down
I knew then that you had turned the tide, brave boys,
I knew then that you had turned the tide.

You hunt me down with your factory ships,
and you never even touch me with your hands.
In the morning, I'm playing with my babies in the waves
In the evening, I'm packed into your cans, brave boys,
In the evening, I'm packed into your cans.

You've become so efficient with your instuments of death
That by now, I'm barely alive.
But if you treat each other in the way you've treated me
I think I'm going to survive, brave boys,
I think I'm going to survive.


From the singing of Iain Mackintosh, recorded on "Home for a While", Kettle Kop-
14.

The tune is the "Greenland Whale Fisheries", and Iain sings verses 1 & 3 of a va
riant of that song, before starting Paul's song

@animal @whale
filename[ GRENFIS6
JMcR