Tunie: <i>Old Polina</i>

About

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There’s a noble fleet of whalers, a sailing from Dundee

Manned by British sailors, to take them o'er the sea,

On a western ocean passage, we started on the trip

And we flew a long like a song in our gallant whaling ship.

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Fore the wind was on her quarter and the engines working free,

There’s not another whaler that sailed the Arctic Sea

Can beat the Old Polina you need not try my sons

For we challenged all, both great and small from Dundee to St. John’s.

'Twas the second Sunday morning, just after leaving port,

We met a heavy Sou'West gale that washed away our boat

It washed away our quarterdeck, our stanchions just as well

And so we set the whole "she-bang" a-floating in the gale.

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Art Jackson set his canvas, Fairweather got up stream

And Captain Guy, the daring boy came plunging through the stream

And Mullins in the "husky" tried to beat the blooming lot

But to beat the Old Polina was something he could not.

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There’s the noble Terra Nova, a model without doubt

The Artic and Aurora they talk so much about,

Art Jackman’s model mail boat, the terror of the sea,

Tried to beat the Old Polina on a passage from Dundee.

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And now we’re back in old St. John’s, where rum is very cheap

So we’ll drink a health to Capt. Guy who brought us o'er the deep,

A health to all our sweethearts and to our wives so fair,

Not another ship could make the trip with the Polina I declare.

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