Far, Far to the Arctic Ocean Where the Bow Heads Blow, There's where my mind am turning ever There's where I want to go. All this Ocean am sad and dreary Every where we stray O Captain will you go to that Ocean Go where the Bow heads Lay
All these whales are wild and ugly All those we see O Captain will you go to that Ocean Go where the Bow heads Be
All up and down this sea we've wandered Since I've been with you Then Captain let us go to the Northard Then we will see something new All the whales that are in this ocean All are wild we see Then Captain will you go to the Northard To where the Bow heads Lay When shall I see the hills and valleys Far away on the Nor'west shore O Captain let us leave this Ocean And not cruise here anymore All this ocean am sad and dreary Every where we stray O Captain will you go to that Ocean Go where the Bow Heads Lay

Source: From the journal of George Edgar Mills (1855)

Wild and Ugly is a song taken from the journal of a whaleship. Ugly here acts as a synonym for the wild, uncontrollable whale. Whalers told tales of the “wild and ugly” animals they hunted, capable of destroying dinghies and ships with a vengeance. Some of these whales were known by name, like the infamous Mocha Dick (the “real” Moby Dick) of the 1830s Pacific Ocean.

This song is a parody of Stephen Foster’s Old Folks at Home (1851). The song was later popularized by the Christy Minstrels but within a few years it had already spread to sea. This version from George Edgar Mills, third mate of the New Bedford bark Leonidas, dates to 1855. This version is a plea addressed to Capt. Oliver that they might hunt the more docile bowhead whale instead of cantankerous gray whales.