A hundred whales a year at the peak of his career
And in between ten hundred thousand fish
Twice a week she would appear at the Straight Street pier
Where every able seaman got his wish
There was plenty half again, Captain Cathcart loved his gin
He gave a daily ration to the crew
He danced a blinding jig every time they hit it big
When the lookout lubber sounded thar she blew
Then the skipper would give chase / as they heaved into the race
In the eye of the beast every sailor saw his face
Chorus: The Ghost of Ontario sailed into the night
All the way from Nantucket to Cape John
How he ever found the way into St. George’s Bay
Harpoon and a live one hangin’ on
… And she dragged ‘em all the way to Cape Breton
In the town there was a rumor of a whale that dragged a schooner
Halfway back to Ireland in a tick
It was Halloween night but Cathcart wouldn’t bite
He could tell-she-weren’t-no-Moby Dick
But when they gaffed her in the side they were in for a ride
Straight off the Bay-of-Rocks with no place to hide
Bridge: I was clingin’ to the wreckage with a few survivors left
The lucky ones among us left for dead
I could swear I heard her creakin’ in the wind from the west
But we never saw it comin’ up ahead
They say he roams the oceans just lookin’ for a fight
Though his ship went down a thousand miles from land
He haunts the Coffin House for liquor every night
A telescope and a pistol in hand
No tide that came his way could ever drown that thirst
No hurricanes or icebergs (Act of God) could lift that mighty curse
