Look Away!
This is the story of James Bartley who might, or might not, have been swallowed by a whale. The story was reported widely in the American press at the time and for many years his story was taken as proof that the biblical story of Jonah and the Whale was quite feasible and not fantasy, as claimed by some atheists. Some marine scientists also attested the the veracity of the tale and some sea captains claimed that this was not a rare occurrence. However sixteen years later the wife of the captain of the ship wrote a letter on her husband's behalf denying the story, but in spite of this the legend grew and lives on today! Unfortunately it's not only the legend that lives on but also whale hunting which is still carried out today, despite attempts to ban it.
My story is outrageous but I swear to you it’s true
On a whaling ship, the Star of the East, I was one of the crew
We were sailing near the Falkland Isles in 1891
When our lookout shouted “there she blows” and we all cheered as one
Look away! Look away! Pray they ban whaling someday
I went in one of the whaleboats with my harpoon in my hand
In the heaving waters it was difficult to stand
But still I threw my harpoon as the whale faced our boat
Then it flipped us in the air; I slid right down its throat
Look away! Look away! Pray they ban whaling someday
Now a whale’s throat is slimy and its muscles worked me down
Into its warm dank stomach where I thought that I would drown
In the foul digestive juices or be poisoned by the smell
But soon my senses left me as I lay rotting in that hell
Look away! Look away! Pray they ban whaling someday
My crewmates later told me that they had caught the whale
And were working on the carcass to get the blubber and the oil
When they removed the stomach before rendering it down
They saw something move inside and that’s when I was found
Look away! Look away! Pray they ban whaling someday
They slit the stomach open and then to their surprise
They found me, a sorry sight, curled up there inside
My skin was bleached, my hair was gone and I was almost blind
At first they took me for a ghoul until I was recognised
Look away! Look away! Pray they ban whaling someday
For a month or so I suffered, I ranted and I raved
I’d been in that whale for a day and half before I had been saved
But slowly I recovered and I’ve lived to tell the tale
Of how I, James Bartley, was swallowed by a whale
Look away! Look away! Pray they ban whaling someday
When I got back to dry land I swore I’d never sail again
I set up business as a cobbler, leather shoes to mend
At night I still have nightmares as I relive my ghastly tale
But I’m thankful that I’m still alive unlike that noble whale
Look away! Look away! Pray they ban whaling someday