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Oh, our schooner and our sloop in Ferryland they do lie,
They are already rigged to be bound for the ice;
All you lads of the Southern we will have you be aware,
She is going to the ice in the spring of the year.
Laddie whack fall the laddie, laddie whack fall the day.
We had vittles for to last more than two months at the least,
And plenty of good rum, boys, stowed away in our chest;
We will give her a rally for to praise all our fancy,
All our seals will be collected by the William and the Nancy.
Laddie whack fall the laddie, laddie whack fall the day.
Our course be east-north-east, two days and two nights,
Our captain he cried out, "Boys, look ahead for the ice!"
And we hove her about, standing in for the land,
And 'twas in a few hours we were firm in the jam.
Laddie whack fall the laddie, laddie whack fall the day.
Oh, our captain he cried out, "Come on, boys, and bear a hand,"
Our cook he gets the breakfast and each man takes a dram;
With their bats in their hands it was early to go,
Every man showed his action 'thout the missing of a blow.
Laddie whack fall the laddie, laddie whack fall the day.
Some were killing some were scalping, some were hauling on board,
And some more they were firing and a-missing of their loads;
In the dusk of the evening all hands in from the cold,
And we counted nine-hundred fine scalps in the hold.
Laddie whack fall the laddie, laddie whack fall the day.
Oh, now we are loaded and our schooner she is sound,
And the ice it is open and to Ferryland we're bound;
We all gave her a rally for to praise all our fancy,
Our seals they were collected by the William and the Nancy.
Laddie whack fall the laddie, laddie whack fall the day.
We are now off Cape Spear and in sight of Cape Broyle,
We will dance, sing, carouse, my boys, in just a little while;
We will soon enjoy the charms of our sweethearts and friends,
For it will not be long before we're down to the bend.
Laddie whack fall the laddie, laddie whack fall the day.
See more songs by Great Big Sea.
A variant was collected in 1961 from Leonard Hulan by Ken Peacock and published in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 1, pp.120-121, by The National Museum of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
Kenneth Peacock noted that this fine old sealing song is one of the finest native ballads to come out of Newfoundland. He found a similar five-verse variant by George Decker in Rocky Harbour. He also noted the song is not known in Ferryland. Peacock added that the word 'Southern' in verse one refers to the Southern Shore, a local expression for the stretch of coastline extending over one hundred miles south of St. John's.
A variant was also recorded by The Punters on their self-titled debut album, The Punters, 1996.
See more songs by The Punters.
From the Dictionary Of Newfoundland English:
Bend - a heavy timber forming one of the principal ribs of a boat or vessel.
