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" Soon May the Wellerman Come", also known as " Wellerman" or " The Wellerman", is a folk song in ballad style first published in New Zealand in the 1970s. The "wellermen" were supply ships owned by the Weller brothers, three merchant traders in the 1800s who were amongst the earliest European settlers of the Otago region of New Zealand.
In early 2021, a cover by Scottish song artist Nathan Evans became a viral hit on the social media site TikTok, leading to a "social media craze" around sea shanties and maritime songs.
Unlike whaling in the Atlantic and northern Pacific, whalers in New Zealand practised shore-based whaling which required them to process the whale carcasses on land. At its peak in 1834, the Otakou station was producing 310 tons of whale oil a year and became the centre of a network of seven stations that formed a highly profitable enterprise for the Wellers, employing as many as 85 people at Otago alone. From the Otakou base the Wellers branched out into industries as diverse as "timber, spars, flax, potatoes, dried fish, Māori artefacts, and even tattooed Māori heads which were in keen demand in Sydney".
By 1835, the year that Joseph Weller died in Otago from tuberculosis, the brothers became convinced of the need to abandon the station even as they branched out into massive land purchases in New Zealand. The Weller brothers' success in the whaling industry was fleeting, and they were declared bankrupt in 1840 after failed attempts at large-scale land purchase in New South Wales. The Otakou station closed in 1841, with 10 tons of oils produced. In 1841, the Court of Claims in New South Wales ruled that the Weller brothers' purchases of land in New Zealand were legally invalid, after which the Wellers "slipped unobtrusively out of the pages of New Zealand history".
Industrial whaling in New Zealand continued until the 1960s. Commercial and illegal whaling operations triggered depletions of whale populations and their migrations, especially the Southern Rights ( Tohorā) and the Humpback Whale ( Paikea). were named as the "right whales to hunt", and were prioritized targets for their behaviors being slow and coastal and docile, quantities of oils and and they yield, and their carcasses with high buoyancies.
The whale lookout point Weller's Rock, or Te Umukuri in te reo Māori, was named after Weller brothers, and has become a protected historic reserve, along with their whaling tools and artifacts being preserved. Historic presences of whales and whaling industry in Otago Harbour have become an influential topic for educational and cultural aspects, such as introductions of whale-based designs on artworks and buildings and the Wellerman sea shanty became a global hit.
According to the song's listing on the website New Zealand Folk Song, "the workers at these bay-whaling stations (shore whalers) were not paid wages, they were paid in slops (ready made clothing), spirits and tobacco." The chorus continues with the crew singing of their confidence that the "tonguin'" will be the last step of their plight. Tonguing in this context refers to the practice of cutting strips of whale blubber to render into oil. Subsequent verses detail the captain's determination to bring in the whale in question, even as time passes and the quartet of whaling boats is lost in the fight. In the last verse, the narrator conveys how the Billy o' Tea is still considered locked in an ongoing struggle with the whale, with the wellerman making "his regular call" to strengthen the captain and crew.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Wayback Machine: In December 2023, a new version of the song was recorded for the trailer for the upcoming action-adventure game Skull and Bones.
In February 2021, Evans, 220 Kid, and Billen Ted performed the song for the CBBC television programme Blue Peter. In March 2021, Evans performed the song for the "End of the Show Show" segment on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, "Soon When the Saturday Come" along with the programme's presenters. The performance included altered lyrics for the occasion and was accompanied by video footage of by celebrities, including Joan Collins, Josh Groban, Laura Whitmore and Dermot O'Leary. Crew members of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, including those from Portishead and Sheringham, also submitted video for the performance, and Queen guitarist Brian May provided a guitar solo. In the seven countries where the remix has reached the top of the , 200 non-fungible tokens were sold, which each include a new dance track, digital art, and a password redeemable for a future asset, with part of their proceeds going to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and a scholarship by 220 Kid.
The version sparked multiple parodies, both on and off TikTok, including a Taylor Swift hit sung to the tune of Evans' version of "Wellerman" performed by the United States Navy Band, a Roman Catholic priest who changed the shanty's lyrics to explain Ash Wednesday, and a parody called Waiting for the Vaccine by Rainer Hersch.
In 2022, the Seattle Mariners used the 220 Kid and Billen Ted remix of the Evans track as a Rally cap for attendees at T-Mobile Park.
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) | 1 |
| Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) | 1 |
| Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) | 21 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100) | 54 |
| Germany (GfK) | 1 |
| Germany Airplay (BVMI) | 2 |
| Global 200 ( Billboard) | 16 |
| Hungary (Rádiós Top 40) | 1 |
| Hungary (Single Top 40) | 4 |
| Hungary (Stream Top 40) | 7 |
| Latvia (European Hit Radio) | 1 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) | 39 |
| Norway (VG-lista) | 1 |
| Portugal (AFP) | 154 |
| Romania (Airplay 100) | 81 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) | 9 |
| Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade) | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 116 |
| US Digital Songs ( Billboard) | 4 |
| Germany (Official German Charts) | 32 |
| Global Excl. US ( Billboard) | 189 |
| Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade) | 31 |
| Australia (ARIA) | 2× Platinum | 140,000‡ |
| Belgium (BEA) | Gold | 20,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) | 2× Platinum | 80,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | 4× Platinum | 320,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| France (SNEP) | Diamond | 333,333‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| Poland (ZPAV) | 3× Platinum | 150,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) | Gold | 10,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000‡ |
| ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Australia (ARIA Charts) | 62 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) | 1 |
| Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100) | 5 |
| Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100) | 8 |
| Denmark (Hitlisten) | 10 |
| Finland (The Official Finnish Charts) | 6 |
| France (SNEP) | 36 |
| Iceland (Music of Iceland) | 19 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 2 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) | 1 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 1 |
| Norway (VG-lista) | 1 |
| Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) | 5 |
| Slovakia (Rádio Top 100) | 31 |
| Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100) | 13 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 1 |
| UK Audio Streaming (OCC) | 1 |
| UK Dance (OCC) | 1 |
| UK Physical Singles Chart (OCC) | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart Update (OCC) | 1 |
| UK Singles Downloads (OCC) | 1 |
| UK Singles Sales Chart (OCC) | 1 |
| UK Streaming Chart (OCC) | 2 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) | 1 |
| Denmark (Tracklisten) | 40 |
| France (SNEP) | 104 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 35 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) | 17 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 12 |
| Norway (VG-lista) | 12 |
| Poland (ZPAV) | 59 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 11 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) | 26 |
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