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Leviathan! Ballads and Songs of the Whaling Trade

	Leviathan! Ballads and Songs of the Whaling Trade A.L. Lloyd Topic 12T174 (LP, UK, 1967) Topic TSCD497 (CD, UK, 1998)
	Leviathan! Balladen und Lieder der Walfänger A.L. Lloyd Pläne 52 520 (LP, Germany, 1978; with German notes and song texts)

The songs on this record span more than a century-and-a-half. They relate to most of the whaling grounds on which British whalers were active, and concern the chase of all the main types of whales.

For the authenticity of the supposedly traditional versions of the songs on this album, which were more often than not heavily edited or rewritten or set to new tunes by A.L. Lloyd without him stating so, see e.g. Brian H. Peters: Authenticity Versus Creativity in the English Folk Song Revival, in The Routledge Companion to English Folk Performance, London: Routledge, 2021 .

Recorded by City of London Studios;
Production and arrangements by A.L. Lloyd

Musicians

A.L. Lloyd: vocals, with
Alf Edwards: English concertina & ocarina;
Dave Swarbrick: fiddle;
Martin Carthy: mandolin;
Trevor Lucas, Martyn Wyndham-Read: chorus

Tracks

Side 1

1. The Balaena (Roud 285) (2.46)
   1870s, Baffin Bay, right and sperm whales
2. The Coast of Peru (Roud 1997; Laws D26) (4.38)
   early 19^th century, Pacific, sperm and right whales
3. Greenland Bound (Roud 970; G/D 1:10) (3.33)
   c. 1840, West Greenland, right whale
4. The Weary Whaling Grounds (Roud 2011) (2.38)
   1840-50, West Greenland, right whale
5. The Cruel Ship’s Captain (Roud 835) (1.32)
   c. 1810, East Greenland, right whale
6. Off to Sea Once More (Roud 644; Laws D7) (6.27)
   1850s, Bering Sea, bowhead whale
7. The Twenty-Third of March (Roud 3291) (1.47)
   1820-40, Davis Strait, right whale

Side 2

8. The Bonny Ship the Diamond (Roud 2172; G/D 1:11) (2.40)
   1820s, West Greenland, right whale
9. Talcahuano Girls (Roud 32688) (3.12)
   early 19^th century, Pacific, sperm and right whales
10. Farewell to Tarwathie (Roud 2562; G/D 1:15) (2.57)
    c. 1850, West Greenland, right whale
11. Rolling Down to Old Maui (Roud 2005) (1.17)
    c. 1850, Kamchatka and Pacific, bowhead and sperm whales
12. The Greenland Whale Fishery (Roud 347) (4.51)
    c. 1725, Spitsbergen, right whale
13. Paddy and the Whale (Roud 6342) (2.24)
    1890s, Antarctic, finn and blue whales
14. The Whaleman’s Lament (Roud 2000) (2.41)
    1820-40s, Pacific, sperm whale
15. The Eclipse (Roud 5650) (3.15)
    1890s, Spitsbergen, bottlenose whale

All tracks trad. except
Track 10 George Scroggie