The Trials of Captain Paul Watson, A Sea Shanty

Credits:
Lyrics by Michael Buckley
Music arranged & sung by Nick Wyke
With special guests: vocalizing of dolphins & whales
© 2024 ThunderHorseMedia.com/Ocean

VERSE 1
Here’s the shocking tale of Captain Paul Watson,
Defender of the Ocean, Hero of the Sea
Under lock and key in a Greenland Jail
Imprisoned by the Danish authorities —
Well out of sight in remote and hidden waters
The Japanese and Danish kill the dolphins and the whales
And throw the book at those who dare to challenge their slaughter
Like Watson tracking hard upon a Japanese ship’s trail

CHORUS
Captain Watson’s “crime” is standing up for marine life
Protecting whales and dolphins, helping ecosystems thrive
“We go where others fear to go” bold Captain Watson cries
“And if we don’t then all the life in every sea will die.
And if the ocean dies, we die”. The sobering refrain
Reminds us not to take this fight for justice all in vain
So let the whales and dolphins, roam across the sea
And let Captain Paul Watson walk free

VERSE 2
Japan’s hunt goes on despite a full commercial ban
Masquerading as ‘research’ to allay the public’s fears
their tradition of whale hunting is nothing but a scam
Japan just killed a Fin Whale, the first time in 50 years
aboard a factory mothership worth nearly 50 million dollars
Filled up with men and tools, and hi-tech gadgetry
Seems less about a way of them continuing tradition
And more about the money they can tear out of the sea

VERSE 3
Meanwhile, East of Greenland, at Denmark’s Faroe Isles
Dolphins killed in hundreds make a bloodbath of the sea
The fishers say that they too are upholding their tradition —
but the EU ban is meaningless when Denmark holds the keys
Dolphin on the dinner table, high in mercury
Are the local health officials here committing perjury?
piles of dolphin body parts, dumped cruelly off the cliffs —
1400 dead in a single day’s not ethical you see…

So let the whales and dolphins, roam across the sea
And let Captain Paul Watson walk free

VERSE 4
Watson sits in prison on and on for countless days
Charged with chucking stink bombs on a Japanese ship’s deck
They want to lock him up so they can carry on the whaling
but here’s what’s really left the smell, and justice in a wreck:
In court with no translator, contravening Danish law —
No extradition treaty, they want to send him to Japan
This perverted justice makes you wonder what the law is for
And 15 years in jail means death, the captain’s an old man

VERSE 5
All his adult life, he’s fought for justice on the sea
To fight the corporate pirates, stop them taking everything
With the flag of Neptune’s Navy and his crews of volunteers
Giving voices to the dolphins and the whales so they can sing
Their home is in the ocean, not the restaurants of Japan
They help to cycle nutrients and soak up carbon too
They’re sentient and vital to continued life on earth
The fate of whales and dolphins is the fate of me and you!

CHORUS

Sea Shanty SONG
“The Trials of Captain Paul Watson”
Lyrics by Michael Buckley
Music arranged & sung by Nick Wyke
with special guests: vocalizing of
dolphins & whales
© 2024 ThunderHorseMedia.com/Ocean

Help our mission to protect the Oceans 👉 https://paulwatsonfoundation.org/donate