Shoals O' Herring

Wi our nets and gear we're faring 
On the wild and wispful ocean 
It's there on the deep‚ that we harvest and reap oor bread 
As we hunt the bonny shoals o' herring 
 
Twas was a fine and a pleasant summer's day 
Out of Yarmouth harbour I was faring 
As a cabin boy on a sailing lugger 
We were off tae hunt the shoals o' herring 
 
Now the work was hard and the hours were long 
And the treatment surely took some bearing 
There was little kindness and the kicks were many 
As we hunted for the shoals o' herring 
 
Now we fished the Swarth and the Broken Bank 
I was cook and I'd a quarter sharing 
And I used to sleep standin' on my feet 
And I'd dream about the shoals o' herring 
 
Well‚ we left the home ground in the month o' June 
And for canny Shields we soon were bearing 
Wi a hundred cran of the silver darlings 
That we'd taken from the shoals o' herring 
 
Through the stormy seas and the living gale 
Just tae earn your daily bread you're daring 
From the Dover Straits to the Faroe Islands 
As you're following the shoals o' herring 
 
Now you're up on deck‚ you're a fisherman 
You can swear and show a manly bearing 
Take your turn on deck wi the other fellows 
As you're following the shoals o' herring 
 
Night and day we're faring 
Come winter wind or winter gale 
Sweat or cold‚ growing up‚ growing old and dying 
As you hunt the bonnie shoals o' herring