From Finner

Apparently, finner is another word for rorqual, which according to Wikipedia “are the largest group of baleen whales…[which] include the largest animal that has ever lived, the Blue Whale.” Moreover, the article mentions “Rorquals take their name from French rorqual, which itself derives from the Norwegian word røyrkval, meaning ‘furrow whale’.[2] All members of the family have a series of longitudinal folds of skin running from below the mouth back to the navel…These are understood to allow the mouth to expand immensely when feeding.”

The song seems to use the ocean as a backdrop, so the connection to a whale is a real possibility, especially in light of the use of the word ‘furrows’ (I think the transcriber made a mistake in using the word farrows, which elsewhere I only found used to describe a litter of pigs).

In this sense, ‘the rocking of his house’ refers to the sea itself, reinforced by all the other marine references, including ‘the salty ocean wind made the seagulls cry,’ ‘the waves that hit his face,’ and the advice to ‘keep your heads held high.’

Along with the high seas setting, there seems to be a longing for adventure and even hardship. At times it verges on being a hymn for the pirate’s life, especially in the simplified, accordion-backed chorus.

I find this song to be fanciful yet nostalgic and somber. When I listen to it I simultaneously yearn for a sailor’s life, reminisce of time spent vagabonding around this wide world, feel empathy for (emi-/immi-)grants, and rock out. I think it’s the best track on an amazing album.

According to Raggi, the male vocalist, the song is "about a whale that has a house on its back on which people travel across the ocean, exploring different places and having adventures."

Pretty random, but cool, thing to write a song about!

This song, like most of the songs on the album is amazing. I love the seafaring style and you really can almost hear the slow movement of the whale and the somber happiness of the people who live on the whale's back. I love the fantastical story to the song.

Could use some help with these lyrics. If anyone knows what goes where the (?)s are, please let me know!

Obviously, most songs have a deeper meaning than simply what story is being told. But from what I can gather, it's about riding on a whale's back. The song refers to "Finner" which is another name for Rorqual, referring to any of the several whales in Balaenoptera. That's a genus of different whale species.

I'm not sure where they went or are going on this whale, but it seems like they wanted it to be known that they're far from home and so happy. Like an adventure. I'm not sure.

I know nothing of Norse Mythology, but when I heard, "We came here on His back" I imagined the first Icelanders being carried to the island on the back of Thor. I'm disappointed by the comment by ImBetterOffWithoutYou that the lyric is about a whale with a house on his back.

i wish i had the same accent as her!!!!!

There is an episode of Dr. Who with a giant space whale that carries a space colony on its back. The whale saved all these people from earth when it was about to be destroyed. I know its not what the song is about but I can't listen to it without thinking of that episode.

A grandfather takes his two grandchildren away from their town, to live far away, by the sea. Something such as war was happening in their town. They were babies, so he carried them on his back. They left with barely any money, so they lived in a rickety house that rocked in the wind, but the girl knew that she was safe away from the war.

Apparently the grandfather fishes to earn pay, when the lyrics say "the waves that hit his face". He's getting older and more crippled each day.

And after each day of being carefree children, their grandfather would return and the children would begin to notice how old he was getting, worrying them - the "stormy nights". But their grandfather - Finner - tells them not to worry.