Keywords Songs

Jack was every inch a sailor, five and twenty years a whaler;
Jack was every inch a sailor; he was born upon the bright blue sea.

When Jack grew up to be a man, he went to Labrador;
He fished in Indian harbour where his father fished before;
On his returning in the fog, he met a heavy gale,
And Jack was swept into the sea and swallowed by a whale.

Jack was every inch a sailor, five and twenty years a whaler;
Jack was every inch a sailor; he was born upon the bright blue sea.

The whale went straight for Baffin's Bay 'bout ninety knots an hour,
And every time he'd blow a spray he'd send it in a shower.
"Oh, now," says Jack unto himself, "I must see what he's about."
He caught the whale all by the tail and turned him inside out.

Jack was every inch a sailor, five and twenty years a whaler;
Jack was every inch a sailor; he was born upon the bright blue sea.

Author Edith Fowke

Links to Other Sites
MacEdward Leach and the Songs of Atlantic Canada
This site features transcriptions and audio clips of traditonal Cape Breton and Newfoundland folk songs in the Leach collection. Click on the menu items on the home page for a biography of MacEdward Leach, profiles of singers, commentary about the historical significance of local tunes and music genres, and more. From the Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive.