The Shoals Of Herring
Oscar Isaac with Punch Brothers Lyrics
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Out of Yarmouth harbour I was faring
As a cabin boy on a sailing lugger
For to go and hunt the shoals of herring
O, 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
O, we fished the Swarth and the Broken Bank
I was a cook and I'd a quarter-sharing
And I used to sleep, standing on me feet
And I'd dream about the shoals of herring
O, we left the home grounds in the month of June
And to canny Shiels we soon was bearing
With a hundred 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 searching for the shoals of herring
In the stormy seas and the living gales
Just to earn your daily bread you're daring
From the Dover Straits to the Faroe Islands
As you're following the shoals of herring
O, 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 sailing after shoals of herring
Oscar Isaac, in "The Shoals of Herring," Punch Brothers depict the challenging yet fulfilling life of fishermen. The lyrics narrate the story of a cabin boy on a sailing lugger who leaves Yarmouth harbour to go and hunt the shoals of herring. The work is hard, and the hours are long, accompanied by little kindness and many kicks. The fishermen fish the Swarth and the Broken Bank, and our storyteller serves as a cook with a quarter-sharing, sleeping on his feet, and dreaming about the shoals of herring.
The story continues with their voyage to canny Shiels in June, where they have one hundred cran of the silver darlings, which is a reference to herring, and then searching for the shoals of herring through the stormy seas and living gales. Fishermen must show a manly bearing and take turns on watch while earning their daily bread from the Dover Straits to the Faroe Islands. The song concludes with the storyteller earning his keep and paying his way, wearing the earned gear, sailing a million miles, and catching ten million fishes while sponsoring shoals of herring.
Line by Line Meaning
O, it was a fine and a pleasant day
The day was beautiful and enjoyable.
Out of Yarmouth harbour I was faring
I was leaving Yarmouth harbour.
As a cabin boy on a sailing lugger
I was a cabin boy on a sailing boat.
For to go and hunt the shoals of herring
We were going to find and catch herring.
O, the work was hard and the hours were long
The work was difficult and time-consuming.
And the treatment sure it took some bearing
We were treated poorly and it was tough to handle.
There was little kindness and the kicks were many
We received little compassion and were physically abused.
As we hunted for the shoals of herring
While searching for herring.
O, we fished the Swarth and the Broken Bank
We fished at Swarth and Broken Bank.
I was a cook and I'd a quarter-sharing
I cooked and shared a quarter of the catch.
And I used to sleep, standing on me feet
I fell asleep standing up.
And I'd dream about the shoals of herring
I dreamt about finding herring.
O, we left the home grounds in the month of June
We departed in June.
And to canny Shiels we soon was bearing
We headed towards Shiels quickly.
With a hundred cran of the silver darlings
We caught a hundred cran of herring.
That we'd taken from the shoals of herring
Herring we had found and caught.
Now you're up on deck, you're a fisherman
You're a fisherman on deck.
You can swear and show a manly bearing
You can curse and appear tough.
Take your turn on watch with the other fellows
Take turns watching with others.
While you're searching for the shoals of herring
While looking for herring.
In the stormy seas and the living gales
In the rough ocean and strong winds.
Just to earn your daily bread you're daring
Risking your life to make a living.
From the Dover Straits to the Faroe Islands
From Dover Straits to Faroe Islands.
As you're following the shoals of herring
While searching for herring.
O, I earned me keep and I paid me way
I earned enough money to support myself.
And I earned the gear that I was wearing
I earned my own clothing and equipment.
Sailed a million miles, caught ten-million fishes
Sailed a long distance and caught a large amount of fish.
We were sailing after shoals of herring
We were searching for herring while sailing.
Contributed by Parker B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Filip Orvik
Gorgeous song from a gorgeous film.
Yulia Oosterhof
and gorgeous performance!
Filip Orvik
@Yulia Oosterhof true
Alberto Mons
Beautiful !
jas20per
If you listen to the un edited words of this song it is about a young man starting out in a hard and dangerous profession of Great Yarmouth herring fishermen, from beginning to death. At the same time the shoals of Herring known affectionately by the fishermen as "Silver Darlings" where also slowly disappearing from the English North Sea never to return in great shoals.
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Nostalgia
Andrew Kennedy-Reagan
It’s criminal that this vid has one comment. It should have 4,500.
Rocktramp
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=The+Shoals+of+Herring+-+Part+of+5