Bustles And Bonnets - The Tannahill Weavers

The humpback, the bowhead, blue and the grey

The right whale, sperm whale have near had their day

But here in their twilight there must be a way

To bring the kings back to the ocean

It’s five thousand years they’ve been hunted and chased

From the warm Bay of Biscay to the Antarctic waste

Oft times to make shapely those ladies of taste

Whose perfume brought death to the ocean

The seven seas are deep and wide

Four ancient winds blow restlessly

There’s neither peace nor place to hide

All for your bustles and bonnets

Gone are the days of the kayak and spear

And the old sailing ships when a sailor knew fear

The harpoon explodes and the cannons the gear

Wreaks the death some would still call a harvest

No more are the days when we netted and hauled

The factory ships slaughter what floats, swims or crawls

The law of the sea now is leave bugger all

To reap without sowing’s the fashion

The seven seas are deep and wide

Four ancient winds blow restlessly

There’s neither peace nor place to hide

All for your bustles and bonnets

But for every vessel that weathers the gale

Tossed like a cork between harpoon and whale

It’s you shall be free and you’ll flourish your tail

Once more to be king of the ocean

The seven seas are deep and wide

Four ancient winds blow restlessly

There’s neither peace nor place to hide

All for your bustles and bonnets

Damn all your bustles and bonnets