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.