Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor
"Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor" is a traditional Newfoundland and Labrador folk song. It is a comical retelling of the Jonah tale, with a Newfoundland whaler as protagonist, but in this instance the whale gets his comeuppance.
It may have been adapted from a New York City music-hall song "Every Inch a Sailor", which itself was a burlesque of "HMS Pinafore".
This song was covered by Canadian children's singing group Sharon, Lois and Bram on The Elephant Show.
Lyrics
Upon the isle of Newfoundland there lived a sailor boyHe was a handsome sailor lad, his father's pride and joy
He was born on board his father's ship on a dark and stormy morn
And he helped the crew harpoon a whale on the day that he was born
Chorus:
When Jack grew up to be a man he sailed from shore to shore
He sailed his ship around the world a dozen times or more
Harpooning whales was play to him for he was very strong
And he was also very tall and his beard was very long
CHO
One night while Jack was standing watch a storm began to blow
It blew so hard that soon the ship was tossing to and fro
A great big wave rolled up to Jack and washed him to the rail
And he was tossed into the sea and swallowed by a whale
CHO
Now when that whale had swallowed Jack it soon began to shake
For this old whale had got himself a mighty stomach ache
Well now, said Jack, this poor old whale don't know what he's about
And he grabbed that whale all by the tail and pulled him inside out
CHO
Another version of the song is this: