I was introduced to the
Im Schwarzen Walfisch zu Askalon (1854) by Manfred Eichholz, member of
The Vegesack Whalermen. It his one of his favourites which he sings in that special inimical way of his and it is great fun to accompany him on my concertina. A so-called "Studentenlied", it gives a very amusing account of a drunken guest at the
Schwarzen Walfisch (The Black Whale) in Askalon (in Ancient Persia - what a pub called The Black Whale is doing in ancient Persia, the song does not say). The guest is unable to pay and the landlord is entirely unamused. I am very amused however by the idea of waiters writing out the bill in cuneiform characters on six bricks, the guest having nothing and is then thrown out by Nubian bouncer. The moral of the story is given in final verse which states roughly that no prophet will be honoured in "The Black Whale" who does not pay for what he eats and drinks.
The song is attributed to Josef Viktor von Scheffel (1826-1886).