1) Emily Smith… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name, including:
1) Emily Smith (born 25 March 1981 in Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway) is a Scottish folk singer;
2) Emily Smith is an American R&B/soul singer from Paso Robles, CA.
1) Emily Smith (born 25 March 1981 in Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway) is a Scottish folk singer. She won the BBC Radio Scotland's Young Traditional Music of the Year Award in 2002. She is a member of Scotland’s ‘folk orchestra’, The Unusual Suspects, and was named ‘Citty Finlayson Scots Singer of the Year 2008'. She also records as Emily Smith & Jamie McClennan with New Zealand-born fiddle player and guitarist Jamie McClennan.
Smith has always held a passion for local history and a keen sense of belonging, which shines through in her music and the enthusiasm she displays when talking of her home region. “Dumfries and Galloway is often a forgotten part of Scotland and through my material, whether traditional or my own songs, I try to portray the beauty and diversity of where I come from. I love being able to sing a song and picture the exact setting of where the event took place, or to sing some of Robert Burns’ material and know that he travelled the same roads and admired the same landscapes as I do today.”
Since winning the 2002 ‘BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award’ she has released several critically-acclaimed albums, toured extensively with her band on the international folk circuit and is recognised not only as one of Scotland’s finest interpreters of traditional song but also as a talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Smith spent six years living in Glasgow, during which time she gained an Honours degree in Scottish Music from The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating in 2003. Now, living back in her home area of Dumfries & Galloway in South West Scotland, Smith has found her niche drawing on the rich local history and ever changing landscape as the source and inspiration for her music. She has an affection (and growing reputation!) for collecting dusty old poetry and song books in search of new material. The results are re-worked ballads which seamlessly interweave with Smith’s own descriptive songs, often confusing the listener as to which material is old and which is new.
She became the first ever winner from Scotland in the USA Song-writing Competition in 2005 after winning the folk section with her song ‘Edward of Morton’. Another of her songs, ‘Always a Smile’, about the life of her Polish grandmother, was short-listed in the final ten. Both songs are found on her second album, "A Different Life".
Alongside her solo career Smith has written, recorded and toured with artists from the folk scene and beyond including Eddi Reader, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Karine Polwart, John McCusker, David Scott and Phil Cunningham. She has also been included in the acclaimed ‘Scottish Women’ group, featuring Scotland’s top female vocalists, is a member of Scotland’s ‘folk orchestra’, The Unusual Suspects, and was named ‘Citty Finlayson Scots Singer of the Year 2008'.
She has recorded live sessions for BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris, Aled Jones and Mike Harding alongside receiving regular play on BBC Radio Scotland. Recent television work includes performing on BBC 1 Scotland’s Hogmanay show and she will be featured in a series of Transatlantic Sessions.
Her official website can be found at www.emilysmith.org.
2) Emily Smith is an American R&B/soul singer from Paso Robles, CA. She released her eponymous album in 2018.
The Final Trawl
Emily Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sing haul away my laddie O
And the owners say that she's had her day
And sing haul away my laddie O
So heave away for the final trawl
Sing haul away my laddie O
It's an easy pull for the catch is small
Then stow your gear, lads, and batten down
Sing haul away my laddie O
I'll tak the wheel an' I'll turn her 'round
And sing haul away my laddie O
We'll join the Venture and the Morning Star
Sing haul away my laddie O
Riding high and empty towards the bar
And sing haul away my laddie O
For I'd rather beach her on the Skerry rock
Sing haul away my laddie O
Than to see her torched in the breaker's dock
And sing haul away my laddie O
And when I die you can stow me down
In her rusty hold where the breakers pound
Haul away
Haul away
I'll make the haven of the Fiddler's Green
Sing haul away my laddie O
Where the grub is good, and the bunks are clean
And sing haul away my laddie O
For I've fished a lifetime, boy and man
Sing haul away my laddie O
And the final trawl scarcely makes a cran
And sing haul away my laddie O
And sing haul away my laddie O
The song "The Final Trawl" by Emily Smith narrates the story of a seasoned fisherman who is taking his boat, which has been deemed outdated by her owners, on her final fishing trip. It has been three years since they made her pay, and they are now using the last of her trawling days to catch a small haul. As they prepare to set sail, the fisherman takes the wheel and turns the boat around, joining two other boats headed towards the harbor. Rather than seeing her torched at the breaker's dock, he would rather beach the boat on the Skerry rock. When he eventually dies, he would like to be buried in the boat, where the breakers pound, joining the Fiddler's Green, where the food is good, and the bunks are clean. Having fished his entire life, the final catch barely even registers.
The song captures the bittersweet moment of the end of an era. The fisherman has spent his whole life at sea, and the boat has been his home. The boat's retirement symbolizes the end of a way of life, and the fisherman's transition to a new phase in his life. The themes of aging, respect for the dead, and nostalgia are all present in this song. The fisherman is aware that this is his final trawl, and he wants to make it count, even if the catch is small. He wants to honor the boat that has served him well throughout his life.
Line by Line Meaning
Now it's three long years since we made her pay
It's been three years since we last used the ship and made money from it
And the owners say that she's had her day
The ship owners have decided that the ship is no longer profitable and it should be retired.
It's an easy pull for the catch is small
Fishing is easy because the catch is small.
Then stow your gear, lads, and batten down
Pack away fishing equipment and secure the ship.
I'll tak the wheel an' I'll turn her 'round
I'll take the wheel and turn the ship around.
Riding high and empty towards the bar
The ship is empty and heading back to port.
Than to see her torched in the breaker's dock
The singer would rather beach the ship on Skerry Rock than to see it destroyed by the breaker's dock.
I'll make the haven of the Fiddler's Green
I will go to the afterlife, Fiddler's Green, when I die.
For I've fished a lifetime, boy and man
The singer has been fishing all their life.
And the final trawl scarcely makes a cran
The last time fishing with the ship won't bring in a big catch.
And sing haul away my laddie O
A chanty phrase repeated throughout the song.
Contributed by Noah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.