228. Humpback Whale Poem

May 26, 2010

Q: I’m looking for a humpback whale poem that appeared in the magazine: “I’m a whale, I’m a whale, and I swim with a humpback motion, and I can spend all day and night on the bottom of the ocean.”

A: It appeared in the January 1974 (Animals) issue in “The Humpback Whale Official Songbook” by Sean Kelly and Brian McConnachie. (Thanks to Dell for answering this.)

Comments

Yet another whale-related pop song craze imagined by the Lampoon guys. The article in question is "The Humpback Whale Official Songbook" by Sean Kelly and Brian McConnachie. It appears in the January 1974 "Animals" issue and is done up to look like depression-era sheet music. One of the songs begins, "I don't smoke, I don't drink, don't leave tea bags in the sink," then proceeds to this bit of ribaldry: "I am whale. I am whale. I'm a humpback whale And I swim with a humpback motion I jump every rump that's a plump hump rump At the bottom of the ocean!"

—Dell

May 31, 2010 5:57 am

Thanks, Dell!

—Mark

June 16, 2010 12:47 pm

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