Shore Whaling Songs

Subject: Shore Whaling Songs
From: Bev and Jerry
Date: 07 Feb 04 - 09:35 PM

There was a whaling station near where we live and whales were caught from shore. Someone asked us this question:

Obviously, shore whaling was a different way of life than ship whaling. My question involves the music associated with shore whaling. Since the shore whalers were from Portugal, and many of them were recent immigrants, wouldn't they have been more likely to sing Portuguese songs or popular tunes of the day, rather that the Irish sea shanties and songs associated with the Yankee whaling ships? What songs would have been the popular tunes of the 1890's?

Can anyone help with this?

Bev and Jerry

Subject: RE: Shore Whaling Songs
From: SINSULL
Date: 07 Feb 04 - 09:54 PM

Shore whaling was done off the coast of New England as well. Someone will know about the music.

Subject: RE: Shore Whaling Songs
From: Padre
Date: 07 Feb 04 - 10:48 PM

On the island of St. Vincent, there is still a small shore whaling town called Barrouallie, where the men go out in small boats to catch blackfish whales. In the 1960's Roger Abrahams wrote a great book about the whalefishing, called "Deep the Water, Shallow the Shore." The Boarding Party learned several songs from that book.

Subject: RE: Shore Whaling Songs
From: Little Robyn
Date: 08 Feb 04 - 04:32 AM

And there were shore whaling stations in New Zealand as well. According to Frank Fyfe, the first one was set up by John Guard at Te Awaiti in 1827.
"Come all you tonguers" and "Soon may the Wellerman come" tell about the life of a shore whaler here.
Robyn

Subject: RE: Shore Whaling Songs
From: Hrothgar
Date: 08 Feb 04 - 04:46 AM

Harry Robertson wrote "Norfolk Whalers," "Ballina Whalers," and "Queensland Whalers" based on his own experiences, but these were all in the 1950s and 60s.

Mark Davidson wrote another very good song about Albany in Western Australia - the name escapes me at the moment. Once again, though, it's a modern song, written about twenty years ago.

Subject: RE: Shore Whaling Songs
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 08 Feb 04 - 05:53 AM

Incidentally, the Queensland Museum has on fairly permanent display a large cast iron trypot from the whaling days, if you are ever headed thru Brisbane.

Robin

Subject: RE: Shore Whaling Songs
From: Bev and Jerry
Date: 09 Feb 04 - 02:07 AM

refresh

Subject: RE: Shore Whaling Songs
From: Lady Hillary
Date: 09 Feb 04 - 09:27 AM

Deep the Water, Shallow the Shore, has been reissued as of a couple of years ago. The Barraouille Whalers were one of the major attractions at Mystic that year.

EBarnacle on Lady Hillary's machine

Subject: RE: Shore Whaling Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Feb 04 - 09:46 AM

St. Vincent is, of course, one of many islands in the West Indies which has up to this day maintained a tradition of "black-fish" whaling from the shore.

However, we should not forget the fresh-water whalers based in Duluth, Minnesota whose hard times and trials in the late 19th century are eloquently portrayed in Si Kahn's ballad "Superior Sperm" or as it is more commonly know "Fresh-Water Whaling." Lyrics can be found by trolling the threads or by PM.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Shore Whaling Songs
From: fogie
Date: 09 Feb 04 - 12:55 PM

I walked round the old whaling factories in the Azores last year- that used to be a busy area for whaling. I went into a scrimshaw museum and got very interested -enough to re-read Moby Dick. All the songs in the Azores are portugese.

Subject: RE: Shore Whaling Songs
From: GUEST,Dan Lanier
Date: 21 Feb 04 - 01:41 AM

For more about Barrouallie Whalers, please check out http://www.barrwhalers.org

Cheers
Dan