This song pertains to right whaling in the Davis Strait (between Greenland and Canada), 1820-1840s. W. P. Merrick noted the song from Henry Hills of Lodsworth, West Sussex and published it in the third volume of the Journal of the Folk-Song Society (late the English Folk Dance and Song Society) in 1901. A. L. Lloyd and others brought several of Hills songs to popular attention through their recordings in the late 1950s.
A great overview of Hills and Percy is provided by Sussex Traditions (Folklife & Lore).