A forum search on "balena" brought up two other threads as well as this one: The Old Polina and LYR: Mamma mia dammi cento lire

The second link is to a completely different song, but if I read the translation correctly, "la balena" is Italian for "the whale". A Scottish ship with an Italian name?...

Barry Finn's words above are almost the same as the version I learned in the late sixties. Charley, were you after anything specific in reviving this thread?

Joan