Oh, it was a fine and a pleasant day,
Out of Yarmouth harbor I was farin'
As a cabin boy on a sailin' lugger,
For to go and hunt the shoals of herring.
Oh, the work was hard and the hours were long,
And the treatment, sure, it took some bearin'
There was little kindness and the kicks were many,
As we hunted for the shoals of herring.
Oh, we fished the Swarthe and the Broken Bank,
I was cook and I'd a quarter sharin'
And I used to sleep standin' on my feet,
And I'd dream about the shoals of herring.
Oh, we left the home grounds in the month of June,
And to canny Shields we soon was bearin'
With a hundred cran of the silver darlins
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 bearin'
Take your turn on watch with the other fellows,
While you're searchin' for the shoals of herring.
In the stormy seas and livin' gales,
Just to earn your daily bread you're darin'
From the Dover Straits to the Faroe Islands
As you're following the shoals of herring.
Well, I earned me keep and I paid me way,
And I earned the gear what I was wearin'
Sailed a million miles, caught ten million fishes,
We were sailin' after shoals of herring.