ROW, MY LOVE, ROW (NORFOLK WHALERS)
(Harry Robertson)

cho: Row, my love, row and bring back to me
The king of the ocean, the prize of the sea.

High on the clifftops of Norfolk's sweet isle
The women and children were watching the while.
Far down below the whaleboatmen row,
As after the humpback the northern men go.

The men on the boats strain hard at the oars,
As they head for the whale and away from the shores.
High in the bow the harpoon men stand,
The steel-shafted harpoon held tight in his hands.

It's "ship your oars, lads, and quiet as we go"
The harpoon sinks deep and the blood starts to flow.
Hell-fire and fury break out on the waves,
One slip of his tail will mean watery graves.

At last the whale drags the boat o'er the sea
But tires from his efforts the lines to break free.
Exhausted at last he floats in the sun
Sharp lances complete what the harpoon has done.

It's back to the island will be a long row,
Should darkness come down then the lanterns will glow.
High on the clifftops the islanders stand
And watch for the whalemen to return to the land.

With backs nearly broken and blistered hands sore
The whalemen at last reach the land's rocky shore.
The joy of friends' faces a pleasure to see
As they welcome them home with the prize of the sea.

Sung by David Jones
@whaling @sailor @work
filename[ ROWLOVE
RG
mudcat.org

---

PLEASE NOTE: Because of the volunteer nature of The Digital Tradition, it is difficult to ensure proper attribution and copyright information for every song included. Please assume that any song which lists a composer is copyrighted ©. You MUST aquire proper license before using these songs for ANY commercial purpose. If you have any additional information or corrections to the credit or copyright information included, please e-mail those additions or corrections to us (along with the song title as indexed) so that we can update the database as soon as possible. Thank You.