The 4 Phils perform the well known sea shanty The Wellerman. This very catchy tune is from the old Whaling days of the remote Otago coast of New Zealand. Phil #3 explains what a "Wellerman" is. #musiceducator #seashanty
I made the lyrics kid friendly - this can be used in the elementary school or junior high classroom for a music unit on sea shanties but also for history lessons.

Here are the kid friendly lyrics - you can copy and paste these into your lesson plan.

There once was a ship that put to sea
And the name of that
Ship was the Billy o' Tea
The winds blew hard, her bow dipped down Blow, me bully boys, blow (huh)
She had not been two weeks from shore When down on her right a whale bore The captain called all hands and swore He'd take that whale in tow (huh)
X2 Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and gum One day, when the work is done We'll take our leave and go
Before the boat had hit the water
The whale's tail came up and caught her All hands to the side
When she dived down below (huh)
X2 Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and gum One day, when the work is done We'll take our leave and go
For forty days or even more
The line went slack then tight once more All boats were lost, there were only four And still that whale did go
As far as I've heard, the fight's still on
The line's not cut, and the whale's not gone The Wellerman makes his regular call
To encourage the captain and crew
X2 Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and gum One day, when the work is done We'll take our leave and go