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01 Jul 98 - 07:08 PM (#31822) Subject: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: john_m_murphy@hp.com Does anyone know either the title to this song? Or better yet have the entire lyrics? I remember is going something like this: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads A whale of a tale or two 'bout the flappin' fish and the girls I've loved on nights like this with the moon above .... I swear by my tattoo. There was typhoon Hannah, had a kiss that felt like thunder she would kiss me any time that I would ask her then one evening her flame of love blew out Pick me up and throw me down she swapped me for a trout ... Thanks Messages from multiple threads combined.
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01 Jul 98 - 10:16 PM (#31857) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: Craig The only time I ever heard that song it was sung by Kirk Douglas in the movie, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" by Walt Disney. Craig |
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03 Nov 98 - 02:27 PM (#44033) Subject: Got a Whale of a Tale From: Rob O Okay, I just picked up 75 Years of Magic, Disney's latest compliation of music from the archives, featuring 75 songs from over the years. (Not a bad collection in its own right: illustrated CD's, book of trivia on each movie and song, historical dates to keep it all in perspective, etc etc). On it is the song "Whale of a Tale" sung by Kirk Douglas in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Chorus goes like this: Got a whale of tale to tell you lads, A whale of a tale or two, 'Bout the flapping fish and girls I've loved, On a night like this with the moon above. A whale of a tale and its all true, I'd swear by my tattoo. The versus are then about individual loves that came and went. My question then is: Is this song a good representation of sailing songs, or is it just hollywood's facsimile that falls far short of what it should be? That, and does anyone have the chords? Thanks RobO |
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03 Nov 98 - 03:29 PM (#44036) Subject: RE: Got a Whale of a Tale From: Einnor I had a 45 of that tune when I was 5 yrs. old. For some strange reason I loved the tune because it represented adventure to me. I'd love to get the lyrics to it. I think if you just tried the 1,4,5, steps of any key your voice is comfortable in, you will find works. |
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03 Nov 98 - 04:28 PM (#44047) Subject: Lyr Add: WHALE OF A TALE (Gimbel, Hoffman) From: MMario lyrics: Got a whale of tale to tell ya lads a whale of a tale or two... Bout the flappin’ fish and the girls I’ve loved, on nights like this with the moon above... A whale of a tale and it’s all true, I swear by my tattoo... There was Mermaid Minnie... met her down in Madagascar She would kiss me... any time that I would ask her Then one evenin’ her flame of love blew out BLOW me down and PICK me up! She swapped me for a trout!! CHORUS There was Typhoon Tessie met her on the coast of Java... When we kissed, I bubbled up like molten lava Then she gave me the scare of my young life BLOW me down and PICK me up! She was the Captain’s wife! CHORUS Then there was Harpoon Hanna had a look that spelled out danger My heart quivered when she said "Howdy stranger" Bought her trinkets... That sailors can’t afford... And when I’d spent my last red cent she tossed me overboard! CHORUS As a representative of sea songs, I would suspect this is less then nothing. As a song that makes people THINK they are hearing a sea song, though.... |
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03 Nov 98 - 05:27 PM (#44057) Subject: RE: Got a Whale of a Tale From: Susan of DT Rob - I would say it's mostly Hollywood, altho traditional sea songs are often about girls. Search for @sailor in the blue search box for LOTS of sailor songs, many traditional. |
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04 Nov 98 - 01:25 AM (#44144) Subject: RE: Got a Whale of a Tale From: Einnor Hello Rob O, I just played this tune in G , and I thought it sounded close enough to acceptable. |
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04 Nov 98 - 11:36 PM (#44296) Subject: RE: Got a Whale of a Tale From: RobO Hey all, I've been fiddling with this, but still can't get the chord progression to work. I tried it with 1, 4, 5 (in G that's G, C, D right?) but I fear I need a little more guidance than that..... Thanks a ton for helping a hack RobO |
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21 May 02 - 02:53 PM (#714788) Subject: Lyr Add: WHALE OF A TALE (Gimbel, Hoffman) From: GUEST Got a Whale of a Tale (from JULES VERNE'S 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA) Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads, A whale of a tale or two, 'bout the flappin fish and the girls I've loved, On nights like this with a moon above, A whale of a tale and its all true, I swear by my tattoo. There was Mermaid Mini, Met her down in Madagascar, She would kiss me, Anytime that I would ask her, Then one evening her flame of love blew out, Well knock me down and pick me up, She swapped me for a trout! - refrain - There was Typhoon Tessie, Met her on the coast of Java, When we kissed I bubbled up like molten lava, Then she gave me the scare of my young life, Well knock me down and pick me up, She was the captain's wife! - refrain - There was harpoon Hannah, Had a face that made you shudder, Lips like fish hooks, And a nose just like a rudder, If I kissed her and held her tenderly, There's no sea monster big enough to ever frighten me! - refrain - |
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21 May 02 - 02:57 PM (#714793) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: Amos LOL!! I haven't heard that since I was in knee-pants!! What a hoot! Thanks, guest! Oh, and no, I wasn't really in knee-pants. More likely Levi's.... A |
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21 May 02 - 03:05 PM (#714804) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: SharonA I found a page with the lyrics plus a MIDI file at the bottom of the page for downloading. CAUTION: the tune will start playing automatically when the page opens. On my computer, it began playing in the background and then, a moment later, overdubbed itself by automatically starting the MIDI's scroll bar! I had to click the "stop" button on the scroll bar to end the overdubbed tune, but the background tune played on. With that warning, here's the page: http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/7840/whaletale.htm |
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21 May 02 - 04:19 PM (#714852) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: Wesley S What suprised me about Kirk Douglas when he was singing this song in the movie it that it was obvious that he had some kind of talent when it came to playing a stringed instrument. I'm guessing he was playing some kind of uke - but he wasn't faking it. The man knew how to play. With the number of unemployed musicians in this world I hate to see a film where some guy is just pretending to play. Rant over. |
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21 May 02 - 04:25 PM (#714855) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: GUEST Charlton Heston plays classical guitar...But people only talk about his being in the NRA |
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21 May 02 - 04:46 PM (#714869) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: MMario no - they also talk about his being Moses |
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21 May 02 - 06:15 PM (#714934) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: Amos And Ben Hur! A |
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21 May 02 - 07:29 PM (#714965) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: SINSULL And bare-assed naked in "Planet of The Apes"! |
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21 May 02 - 07:34 PM (#714969) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: GUEST,Van Lingle ...and a horse's arse. |
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21 May 02 - 08:12 PM (#714987) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: Joe Offer I couldn't quite believe it was written by Jules Verne, but I think the 1954 Disney movie was called Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, so I guess the above is correct. As for the song, Music and Lyrics were by Norman Gimbel and Al Hoffman. -Joe Offer- |
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22 May 02 - 09:04 AM (#715259) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: GUEST,fretless, at work A great thread about a wonderful movie tune. The only comparable cinema-shanty that I can think of was Spencer Tracy's in Captains Courageous (1937): "There's a place in my heart for the one I love best/And I still wear her picture tattooed on my chest." Does anyone have the rest of the words for THAT one? |
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22 May 02 - 09:07 AM (#715263) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: Mrrzy Ooh, I loved that one! Didn't he also sing something about Don't cry, little fish, don't cry don't cry? I'd love those lyrics too! What a great movie, portugee or not! |
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22 May 02 - 09:18 AM (#715270) Subject: Yeah Ho Little Fish - Sung by Spencer Tracy From: Snuffy YEA HO, LITTLE FISH is in the DT Database. WassaiL! V |
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22 May 02 - 10:55 AM (#715344) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: GUEST,fretless, at work Thanks, Snuffy! |
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22 May 02 - 12:28 PM (#715412) Subject: ADD Version: Little Fishes From: Dave Bryant Sorry about the thread creep, but these are the words which I use for "Little Fishes". The second and fifth verses are my own . The crew are asleep and the ocean's at rest, I'm singing this song for the one I love best. Sing, Hey little fishes don't cry, don't cry. Sing, Hey little fishes don't cry, don't cry. The seas they do crash and the winds they do wail, With our storm-jib close-reefed we will ride out the gale. Now the ship sails along and the weather is fine, The skipper's gone aft, laying out some more line. Little fish when he's caught, fights just like a great whale, And he thrashes the water with his tiny tail. As the fish come aboard how the scales they do gleam, While over our heads all the herring-gulls scream. Repeat first verse. Wasn't it a hurdy-gurdy that Spenser Tracy accompanied himself on in the film ? It's a great film, but I once heard that they wrote off quite a lot of lovely top-sail schooners making it - evidently it was during the depression and they bought them up dirt cheap.
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22 May 02 - 01:09 PM (#715431) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: GUEST,fretless, at work I have a memory of Spencer singing the song a cappella while he rowed a dory or skiff -- but it's been a long time since I've seen CC. |
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22 May 02 - 03:49 PM (#715565) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: EBarnacle1 Tracy sang it on deck on the We're Here to Harvey Cheyne as a sort of lullaby, personifying Harvey as a little fish. It seems to have been adopted into the folk canon. Does this mean that it's a folk song now? |
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22 May 02 - 05:37 PM (#715645) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: Celtic Soul "Whale of a Tale" is most definitely a Hollywood Shanty. Disney is famous for this. The "Oo-da-lolly" song in "Robin Hood" is an obvious rip off "Little Beggarman". What I want to know is, why not use the trad stuff? Not like they'll have to pay royalties, and it would be 1000 times better than the stuff they have their Hollywood musicians (who obviously have little knowledge of folk) write. |
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22 May 02 - 06:42 PM (#715732) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: The Walrus CS "...What I want to know is, why not use the trad stuff? Not like they'll have to pay royalties..." It's quite simple, they wouldn't have to pay royalties, but they wouldn't be able to enforce copyright either and the do like their money a Mouschwitz. Walrus |
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23 May 02 - 05:57 PM (#716410) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: GUEST Bob Zentz - 'Hove to and Drifting' recording has a fine rendition of this shanty - Blue Clicky Thing voyager |
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23 Sep 05 - 10:14 PM (#1569633) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: GUEST,Erin |
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24 Sep 05 - 12:26 PM (#1569844) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: Tannywheeler There are sure better sea/sailor songs in the true folk canon than Hollywood dreams up. I remember Kirk D. using a concertina in the movie. Did they have him play both a stringed instr. and the squeezebox? Or is this a senior moment? Tw |
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24 Sep 05 - 02:12 PM (#1569897) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: Allan C. Kirk Douglas also played a "guitar" that was made from a sea turtle's shell. |
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24 Sep 05 - 06:16 PM (#1569981) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: Bard Judith (looks at Celtic Soul with a quizzical expression) "What I want to know is, why not use the trad stuff? Not like they'll have to pay royalties, and it would be 1000 times better than the stuff they have their Hollywood musicians (who obviously have little knowledge of folk) write?" Does this truly surprise you? (blinks innocently) After all, they don't use the traditional story lines they rip off... which were at least a hundred % better in the folk tales and fairy stories! I wonder if they would have had to pay Hans Christian Andersen's estate if they'd kept to his original concept and let the Little Mermaid die? Oh, sorry, don't want to 'creep' this into an anti-Disney thread! (quickly gets down and tugs her soapbox off into a quiet corner...) |
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24 Sep 05 - 07:02 PM (#1570004) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: Tannywheeler BTW, they played good music in "Moby Dick"--the Gregory Peck version. I mean real, or trad. music. Tw |
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13 Jul 08 - 11:25 PM (#2388152) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: GUEST,Blackwater Hattie I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS. I thought I hallucinated this song... I had it on one of those old ass 45, with the little book and everything. I'm SO glad I found this site... I made the mistake of singing the chorus to my daughter (she's 5) and she demanded I learn it for her bedtime song. I thought I was seriously fucked. THANKS, YALL! |
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14 Jul 08 - 12:11 AM (#2388163) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: catspaw49 Feel free to hang out around here or visit anytime. Glad to be of help. There are thousands of such hard to find things around here and if you don't see it.....ask! Lots of good researchers on folk music here too. And btw, though you now have the lyrics and all is good but if you have tp sing this thing nightly, you're still seriously fucked...... Spaw |
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14 Jul 08 - 12:04 PM (#2388557) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" was considered a ground-breaking special effects film for its time. THis movie, with its giant squid sequence, while a bit crude for modern audiences jaded by computer technology, was the "Jurassic Park" of the early 1950's. Kirk Douglas (as Popeye?) was his "over-the-top" self throughout this one and no more so than during the song. |
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14 Jul 08 - 06:58 PM (#2389106) Subject: RE: Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads.... From: GUEST,'Ray Bucknell The Serendipity Singers recorded "Whale of a Tale" during the folk scare; I learned it from one of their albums (the only one I had because at the time all my record-buying money went for Chad Mitchell Trio stuff). Had no idea the song came from a movie score but I'd certainly have remembered it if I'd seen the movie, which obviously I haven't. Anyway, the Serendipity's version always struck me as rather a novelty kind of thing, even back then. 'Ray |
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01 Aug 11 - 10:36 AM (#3199707) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Whale of a Tale From: GUEST,guest Tex Ritter also did a version |