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O, it was a fine and a pleasant day,
Out of Yarmouth harbour I was faring;
As a cabin boy on a sailing lugger,
For to go and hunt the shoals of herring.
O, the work was hard and the hours were long,
And the treatment, sure it took some bearing;
There was little kindness and the kicks were many,
As we hunted for the shoals of herring.
O, we fished the Swarth and the Broken Bank,
I was cook and I'd a quarter sharing;
And I used to sleep standing on me feet,
And I'd dream about the shoals of herring.
O, we left the homegrounds in the month of June,
And to Canny Shiels we soon were bearing;
With a hundred cran of the silver darlings,
That we'd taken from the shoals of herring.
Now, you're up on deck, you're a fisherman,
You can swear and show a manly bearing;
Take your turn on watch with the other fellows,
While you're searching for the shoals of herring.
In the stormy seas and the living gales,
Just to earn your daily bread you're daring;
From the Dover Straits to the Faroe Islands,
As you're following the shoals of herring.
O, I earned me keep and I paid me way,
And I earned the gear that I was wearing;
Sailed a million miles, caught ten million fishes,
We were sailing after shoals of herring.
See more songs by Ewan MacColl.
From the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:
Shoal — a large number of fish (especially cod) or seals swimming in company while feeding or migrating; the migration of the fish or seals to inshore water.
From Princton WordNet Search:
Cran — a capacity unit used for measuring fresh herring; fixed by the Fisheries Board at 37 gallons (about 750 fish).
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Notes On Guitar Tabs:
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All guitar tabs have been contributed by visitors to this site and represent their interpretation of the tune. We are unable to verify their accuracy.
2nd fret in G
[First verse only in some variants]
With our nets and gear we're faring,
On the wild and wasteful ocean;
It's there that we hunt and we earn our bread,
As we hunted for the shoals of herring.
[G] O it was a fine and a pleasant day,
Out of Yarmouth harbour I was [D] faring,
As a [G] cabin boy on a [Fm#] sailing [E] lugger,
For to [G] go and hunt the [C] shoals of [D] herring. [G]
