[Verse 1]
'56 I sailed on board
A ship called Byron One
She's carried trawler men on deck
And a harpoon whaling gun

[Chorus]
Oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the humpback whale

[Verse 2]
A tractor for a whale winch
And the ship's an old Fairmile
Twin diesels turn the screws around
She'll whale in a fine old style

[Chorus]
Oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the humpback whale

[Verse 3]
Keep a sharp lookout, me lads
The whale, he's on the run
And we'll drive him into Byron Bay
And we'll shoot him with our guns
[Chorus]
Oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the humpback whale

[Verse 4]
The harpoon and the line fly through
Very deep into the whale
She split the timbers of the ship
With a flurry of her tail

[Chorus]
Oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the humpback whale

[Verse 5]
The rigging struts are snapped in two
We reel beneath the blow
The gunner fires a killer shot
And that humpback's sent below

[Chorus]
Oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the humpback whale
[Verse 6]
Make her tail fast to the bows
We got no time for bed
For four-and-twenty hours each day
We kept that factory fed

[Chorus]
Oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the humpback whale

[Verse 7]
The flensing men upon the land
Some had been jackaroos
They skin the blubber from the whales
Like they're skinning kangaroos

[Chorus]
Oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the humpback whale

[Verse 8]
A hundred whales and then fifty more
Through the factory we did send
And then the orders came, "Knock off, me lads
Your season's at an end"
[Chorus]
Oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the humpback whale

[Verse 9]
Back in to Ballina we steered
Tied up and stowed the gear
All hands headed for the pub
And we filled ourselves with beer

[Chorus]
Oh, you trawler men, come on
Forget your snapper and your prawn
For it's out of Ballina we'll sail
Fishing for the humpback whale