Songs and Lyrics

Version 1

%abc-2.1

X:1
T:Shoals of Herring
Z:Webmaster
C:Trad
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=80
K:C
C3/2 D/2| GG G2| A3/2 G/2 FE| G2 CE|
w:Oh it was a fine and a plea-sant day, Out of
GG c3/2 d/2| ec d3/2 B/2| G2 c3/2 d/2|
w:Yar-mouth har-bour I was fare-ing, As a
e3/2 c/2 d2| c3/2 B/2 GF| E/2 C3/2 CE|
w:ca-bin boy on a sai-ling lug-ger, We were
G3/2 G/2 EC| F3/2 E/2 D2| C2||
w:fol-low-ing the shoals of her-ring.
%
W:1
W:Oh it was a fine and a pleasant day,
W:Out of Yarmouth harbour I was fareing,
W:As a cabin boy on a sailing lugger,
W:We were following the shoals of herring.
W:
W:2
W:Oh the work was hard and the hours were long.
W:And the treatment sure it took some bearing.
W:There was little kindness and the kicks were many
W:As we hunted for the shoals of herring
W:
W:3
W:Oh we fished the swarth and the brooken bank,
W:I was cook and I'd a quarter sharing
W:And I used to sleep standing on my feet
W:And I'd dream about the shoals of herring
W:
W:4
W:Oh we left the home clouds in the month of June,
W:And to canny shirls we soon were bearing.
W:Wi' a hundred cran o' the silver darlings,
W:That we'd taken from the shoals of herring
W:
W:5
W:Oh we fished the swarth and the brooken bank,
W:I was cook and I'd a quarter sharing
W:And I used to sleep standing on my feet
W:And I'd dream about the shoals of herring
W:
W:6
W:Now you're up on deck, you're a fisherman.
W:You can swear and show a manly bearing.
W:Take your turn on watch with the other fellows,
W:While you're searching for the shoals of herring
W:
W:7
W:In the stormy seas and the living gales,,
W:Just to earn your daily bread you're daring,
W:From the Dover Straits to the Faroe Islands,
W:As you're following the shoals of herring
W:
W:8
W:Oh I earned my keep and I paid my way,
W:And I earned the gear I was wearing.
W:Sailed a million miles, caught a million fishes,
W:We were sailing after shoals of herring
W:
W:
W:Occasional additional first verse:
W:
W:1
W: With our nets and gear we're faring
W:On the wild and wasteful ocean.
W:Its there that we hunt and we earn our bread
W:As we hunted for the shoals of herring

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Song by Traditional
Country of origin: England

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