Oh, 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
Now 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
Oh we fished the Sward and the Broken Bank
I was cook and i`d quarter sharing
And I used to sleep standing on my feet
And I´d dream about the shoals of herring
Well, we left the home grounds in the month of June
And to canny shields we soon were bearing
With a hundret 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 following the shoals of herring
In the stomy seas and the living gale
Just to earn your daily bread you`re daring
From the Dover Straits to the Faroe Island
While you`re following the shoals of herring
Well, 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 follwing the shoals of hering