Bringin' Home the Oil is an Irish-themed sea shanty written in 1969 by Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers as the theme for a two-minute long television commercial for Gulf Oil as part of their sponsorship of NBC News coverage of the US space program and the national political conventions in celebration of Gulf Oil's then-new operations in Bantry Bay.
Quite possibly the only song ever written about a modern-day oil tanker, the upbeat 6/8 melody is that of a traditional Scottish song, "The Gallant Forty Twa" which was also recorded by the Clancys. It tells the story of Gulf's 300,000 dwt Universe Ireland as well as making mention of three other ships in the fleet: Universe Kuwait, Universe Japan and Universe Portugal. The song alludes to the construction of still more vessels; these would later be the vessels rounding out the six-vessel Universe-class fleet, namely the Universe Iran and Universe Korea. Instrumentation in the song is simple, consisting of strummed banjo and guitar as well as a solo tin whistle between verses.
The song is told from the point-of-view of an "able-bodied sailor" who boasts of "sailin' all around the world" and "bringin' home the oil" to "keep all Europe movin' from our base in Bantry Bay." Gulf's operations from its Whiddy Island oil terminal in Bantry Bay ended on a night in January 1979 when the Total Oil tanker Betelgeuse exploded while unloading its cargo of Arabian crude oil.
The commercial itself was simple, consisting of helicopter shots of the various vessels (beginning with the superstructure of the Universe Kuwait) often in conjunction with tugboats to give the viewer a sense of scale regarding the size of the ships. One overhead shot shows five tugboats pushing on the port side of the Universe Ireland as part of a docking maneuver.
The words to the song are as follows:
1. I'm an able-bodied sailor and I've often crossed the line, On whalin' ships and sailin' ships and ships of every kind; But now I've got the very best job I've had for many a day. I'm workin' on a tanker bringin' oil to Bantry Bay.
CHORUS: Hey! Bringin' home the oil, me boys, bringin' home the oil! Sailin' all around the world, bringin' home the oil! A-workin' on a giant ship, it's very hard we toil, Sailin' into Bantry Bay, bringin' home the oil!
2. She is the biggest ship, me lads, that ever sailed the sea. As graceful (?) as a swan she goes; we sail her at our ease. From Araby around Cape Hope we proudly make our way, To keep all Europe movin' from our base in Bantry Bay. CHORUS
3. They're building other tankers now to speed more oil to you, The Universe Kuwait, me lads, Japan and Portugal, too. Also the Universe Ireland, I'm very proud to say, Is among the giant ships that's bringin' oil to Bantry Bay. CHORUS