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Come all ye jolly people and listen to my song,
It's only a few verses, it won't delay you long;
Concerning our fishery, on the island of Newfoundland,
To see the way we're treated, it's hard to understand.
They want our salmon license and likewise our gear,
To take our salmon licenses, it don't seem very fair;
We used to make some money for to buy food and twine,
But now we got to stay ashore and sit on our behind.
They have given our cod fish to foreign countries,
We can't sell our capelin, except to the Japanese;
They're too small and full of red feed and very hard to sell,
But we should tell the Japanese that they can go to hell.
The closure of our salmon fishery, you can blame on Humphrey,
It would really turn your stomach to see him on T.V.;
Someone should take a salmon and shove it down his throat,
And give him a good bath, wrapped in his overcoat.
There is nothing left for us to do but to stay on shore,
They have given our salmon to the anglers and to Labrador;
They did not even stop to think, it's very plain to see,
That it's all blamed on the commercial fishery.
So, come all you jolly fisherman wherever you may be,
I know we will miss our salmon fishery;
We may not get one to eat, we haven't got any twine,
But probably we will get one if Fisheries they don't mind.
To get one in our cod trap, we will have to throw away,
But that is the silliest thing that ever you did see;
We may have to hook one, it's the only chance we got,
But we don't give a damn if we can get one for the pot.
Collected by Ryan Pittman of the 2004 Folk Literature class at Harriet Curtis Collegiate in St. Anthony, NL.
