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"A" for abundance, this we all need,
"B" for our boats o'er the water do speed,
"C" stands for caplin and codfish likewise,
"D" is for dawn, the time we all rise.
So merry, so merry, so merry are we,
No mortals on earth are like fishers at sea;
Blow high or blow low, we're jogging along,
Give us a fair cull and there's nothing goes wrong.
"E" for our engines, on them we rely,
"F" for the freezer, our bait there we buy,
"G" stands for grapnel, five hooks and a ring,
"H" is for herring, the first bait in spring.
So merry, so merry, so merry are we,
No mortals on earth are like fishers at sea;
Blow high or blow low, we're jogging along,
Give us a fair cull and there's nothing goes wrong.
"I" for the inspector, he turns down all slime,
"J" stands for jigger we have on our line,
"K" stands for killick, wood, rock, and nails,
"L" is for luff we have in the sails.
So merry, so merry, so merry are we,
No mortals on earth are like fishers at sea;
Blow high or blow low, we're jogging along,
Give us a fair cull and there's nothing goes wrong.
"M" stands for mackerel, and meshes, and mast,
"N" is for nails, this keeps the planks fast,
"O" stands for oakum, and "P" for the prong,
It's a sharp-pointed steel in a handle so long.
So merry, so merry, so merry are we,
No mortals on earth are like fishers at sea;
Blow high or blow low, we're jogging along,
Give us a fair cull and there's nothing goes wrong.
"Q" is for quintals, and "R" for the rise,
"S" for the steamer that brings our supplies,
"T" stands for tom-cod, the tide they do stem,
"U" is for under, and "V" stands for vim.
So merry, so merry, so merry are we,
No mortals on earth are like fishers at sea;
Blow high or blow low, we're jogging along,
Give us a fair cull and there's nothing goes wrong.
"W" is for whales we often hear blow,
We have "X" on the gang-boards to keep them just so,
"Y" is for yanking, a jerk and a twist,
And "Z" is zephyr, the wind we like best.
So merry, so merry, so merry are we,
No mortals on earth are like fishers at sea;
Blow high or blow low, we're jogging along,
Give us a fair cull and there's nothing goes wrong.
Collected in 1952 from the composer, Chris Cobb, of Barred Island, NL, by Ken Peacock and published in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 1, pp.125-126, by The National Museum Of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved
Kenneth Peacock noted that with sailors' and lumbermen's alphabet songs already well known, it was not surprising that a talented composer like Chris Cobb should turn his hand to a fishermen's version.
From the Dictionary Of Newfoundland English:
Caplin - a small, iridescent deep-water fish (Mallotus villosus) like a smelt which, followed by the cod, appears inshore during June and July to spawn along the beaches, and is netted for bait, for manuring the fields, or dried, salted, smoked, or frozen for eating.
Cull - of dried and salted cod-fish, herring, etc., the act of sorting, or the product of sorting, into grades; the criteria by which fish are sorted; the grades into which fish are divided.
Killick - anchor made up of an elongated stone encased in pliable sticks bound at the top and fixed in two curved cross-pieces, used in mooring nets and small boats.
Quintal - a hundredweight (112 pounds); a measure of cod-fish caught by fishermen.
Luff is the rippling or fluttering effect on the forward edge of a fore-and-aft sail caused when, in this condition, the sail begins to spill its wind and the airflow around it stalls.
