Sing A Whale Song

Sing A Whale Song
by John Forster & Tom Chapin
© 1989 Limousine Music Co. & The Last Music Co. (ASCAP)

On a fateful day in the month of May
I was sitting catching fish
When a magic whale swam up to the rail
And said, “Please make a wish.”
So I said, “Well gee, I’d love to be
Like you, a giant whale.”
Next thing I knew, I was grayish-blue
And I had a two-ton tail.
Sing a whale song. Sing a whale song. Sing a whale song.
As the flounder said to the oyster bed: “Sing a whale song.”
With a mighty leap I dove down deep
And swam out through the cove.
The I raced to the top, did a belly-flop
And down again I dove.
From the Arctic to the Baltic to the far off Hebrides,
Like a submarine through the deep blue-green,
I swam the seven seas.
And sang a whale song.
Sing a whale song. Sing a whale song.
As the dogfish barked to the Great White Shark: “Sing a whale song.”
But there were some things I wish I could forget,
Like that garbage scow off of Curaçao
Or that oil spill below Brazil
Or getting caught in that giant net
And I couldn’t get out and oh, was I upset!

So I had to hail that magic whale
Who changed me back once more,
Saying, “Now that you know the Great Below
We need your help on shore
To tell your tale of being a whale
And all you’ve seen and done.
Then wet and dry will unify
And all the world as one
Will sing a whale song.”
Sing a whale song. Sing a whale song.
From the smallest ant to the tallest tree,
From the highest peak to the deepest sea,
All the world will ring in harmony
And sing a whale song.

This song appears on Tom Chapin's Moonboat CD.

Return to Home Page

Send comments to info@tomchapin.com