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