The Weary Whaling Ground chords by Traditional

The Weary Whaling Grounds from albumn - Sea Shanties: Rousing Songs From the Age of Sails

Basic Picking Pattern for entire song:

  Am   C    D    Am     C     D
e|-----------------------------------------------------------|
B|-----------------3---------------------------3----3--------|
G|---2------0-----2-2-----2----2-------0------2-2--2-2-------|
D|--2-2----2-2---0-------2-2--2-2-----2-2----0----0----------|
A|-0------3-------------0----0-------3-----------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------------------------|


VERSE 1:
N.C  Am    C      D    Am            C    D
Oh if I had the wings of a gull, me boys. I would spread them and fly home.
  Am    C      D  Am             C     D
I'd leave old Greenland's icy grounds for of right whales there are none.

VERSE 2:
    Am     C       D       Am          C   D
And the weather is rough and the winds they do blow, there's little comfort here.
    Am    C     D    Am       C     D
And I'd sooner be snug in a Bedtford pub, A-drinkin' of strong beer.


VERSE 3:
 Am     C       D       Am          C   D
Oh, a man must be mad or want money bad to venture hunting the whale.
    Am    C        D       Am           C      D
For he may be drowned when the big fish turns around or our head be smashed by the tail.


VERSE 4:
      Am     C       D       Am          C       D
Though the work seems grand to the young green hand, as he makes up his mind when he goes.
   Am    C       D     Am            C     D
In a very short burst he'd as soon hear a curse than the cry of: “There she blows!”


VERSE 5:
   Am    C      D        Am    C   D
“All hands on deck now, for God's sake, move briskly if you can.”
    Am     C     D    Am           C     D
And he stumbles on deck, so dizzy and sick; For his life he don't give a damn.


VERSE 6:
  Am         D      Am                C   D
And high overhead the great flukes spread, and the mate gives the whale the iron.
   Am   C      D   Am            C     D
And soon the blood in a purple flood from the spout-hole comes a-flying!


VERSE 7:
      Am   C     D     Am              C    D
All these trials we bear for nigh four years till the flying jib points for home.
    Am        C      D     Am         C     D
We're supposed for our toil to get a bonus on the oil and an equal share on the bone.


VERSE 8:
    Am     C    D       Am            C   D
But we go to the agent to settle for the trip, And we find we've cause to repent.
      Am  C     D      Am           C     D-
For we've slaved away four years of our life and earned about three pound ten.




The song is repetative so I sugguest breaking into stiffled chords at times of different intensity.
On the Am you can pull off/hammer on the Asus2 and on the D can utilise similarly the Dsus4 and Dsus2

  Am variation  D variation
e|------------------2h3p2p0h2----------|
B|----1p0h1---------3-3-3-3-3----------|
G|----2-2-2---------2-2-2-2-2----------|
D|----2-2-2---------0-0-0-0-0----------|
A|----0-0-0----------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------|

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p - Pull-off
h - Hammer-on