Rolling Down To Old Maui – Roger McGuinn's Folk Den

Mp3: Rolling Down To Old Maui – Click To Play

This is a Pacific whaling song. Most whaling songs I know are Atlantic based, sailing to Iceland and Greenland whale fisheries. This is the story of a ship based in Maui that sailed to the Kamchatka_Peninsula where there were many types of whales in the 1800s.

I would encourage you to listen to this with large speakers or earphones, as there some low frequencies that will surely be lost through computer sound systems.

Lyrics:

[Em] It’s a mighty tough [B7] life [Em] full of toil and [B7] strife
[Em] We whaler-men [D] under [Em] go [Em]
And we really don’t [B7] care when the [Em] gale is [B7] done
[Em] How hard them [D] winds did [Em] blow
[G] We’re homeward bound from the [D] Arctic Sound
With a [C] good ship taut and [B7] free [Em]
And we’ll have our [B7] fun when we [Em] drink our [B7] rum
[Em] With the girls of [D] Old [Em] Maui
CH
[G] Rolling down to Old [D] Maui, me boys [C]
Rolling down to Old [B7] Maui [Em]
We’re homeward [B7] bound from the [Em] Arctic [B7] Ground [Em]
Rolling down to [D] Old [Em] Maui

Once more we sail with a Northerly gale
Through the ice, and wind, and rain
Them coconut fronds, them tropical lands
We soon shall see again
Six brutal months have passed away
On the cold Kam-chat-ka sea
But now we’re bound from the Arctic ground
Rolling down to Old Maui

Once more we sail the Northerly gale
Going towards our Island home
Our mainmast sprung, our whaling done
We ain’t got far to roam
Our stuns’l booms is carried away
What care we for that sound
A living gale is after us
Thank God we’re homeward bound

How soft the breeze through the island trees
Now the ice is far astern
Them native maids, them tropical glades
Is awaiting our return
Even now their big, round eyes look out
Hoping some fine thing to see
Our baggy sails running ‘fore the gales
Rolling down to Old Maui