Lyrics Bustles And Bonnets - The Tannahill Weavers

Bustles And Bonnets

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