Come all you tonguers and land-loving lubbers Here's a job cutting-in, and boiling down blubbers A job for the youngster or old and ailing The agent will grab any man for shore whaling. I am paid in soap and sugar and rum For cutting in whale and boiling down tongue The agent's fee makes my blood so to boil! I'll push him in a hot pot of oil. Go hang the agent, the company too They are making a fortune off me and off you No chance of a passage from out of this place And the price of living's a blooming disgrace.

New Zealand shore whaling began in 1829 and continued until populations collapsed around the 1950s.

Tonguing was the New Zealand practice of taking a crew of Maori to assist whaling outfits in towing and cutting in a whale. American whaling companies especially appreciated the additional labor, language interpretation, and opportunity to trade supplies that were provided by the tonguers. After the work was done, tonguers were given the carcass and tongue of the whale, which could still be boiled down for “6 or 8 more barrels of oil”. The practice is also mentioned in Soon May The Wellerman Come.