The Wellerman

"The Wellerman" is an Antipodean sea shanty, referring to the supply ships of Australia's Wellerman Brothers, who provisioned the remote whaling station at Otago on New Zealand's South Island in the early Nineteenth Century. The song became a viral hit when the British vocalist Nathan Evans posted it on Tik Tok in early 2021 -- which only shows how out of touch I am, as I first came across it last April (which is when I queued up this post). There are many interesting renditions below.

Comments

[Patrick Collins]

The location is "Otago." My gggfather left the shores of the Emerald Isle to work the goldfields in Otago in the 1860s.

[SL]

Fixed it.

[Rebecca Flanagan]

This is a smash hit amongst the elementary school set. I do not understand it, but my son and his friends (6-7 y.o) know all words. And it was turned into a Kidz Bop song. It's both cool and baffling.