Between You and that Harpoon

Time to leave now, head from Hobart to Antarctica
So close but so far from Australia
Where watchful eyes are always peeled, because you never know
When there’s a growler below
Watchful eyes peeled for predators and prey
Where all one can do is do whatever can to keep the hunt at bay
The time is coming and it’s coming soon
When we’ll stand between you and that harpoon

The tide is unforgiving, the sea floor is a grave
For those capsized souls before us who fell beneath the waves
And perhaps we’ll join them by accident or not
Perhaps a gale or a storm or a well-aimed shot
But we’ll steer around the ice and right into their sights
Everyone must pick their battles, this is our fight
So here beneath the Southern Cross and the crescent moon
We’ll stand between you and that harpoon

Between you and the harpoon, there’s just a little space
But that’s where we can see your face
Look into your eyes and hear you sing
One comes to realize, you have to do something
Sometimes all you can do is do your best
And hope that someone else will do the rest
So once again we’ll spend this afternoon
Standing between you and that harpoon

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“Between You and That Harpoon” originally appeared on the 2013 Bandcamp album, Spies Are Reading My Blog.

Sea Shepherd is a wonderful bunch of whale-loving militants, whose escapades are pretty impressive. They have sunk whaling ships belonging to Norway and Iceland, and they continually harass the Japanese whaling fleet. I visited a boat and crew in Sydney, Australia in 2013 and wrote this song.