At the age of fifteen I shipped out from the Humber
Me very first trip for the Silver Pits bound
I was galley-boy, mess-man, the lowest of callings
But at last I was off to the trawl-fishing grounds
"Fair Isle to Labrador
Bear Isle and Norway
And cold Greenland shore
Learning me trade with the men of the sea"
Long years as a deckie I hauled for me living
And dodged on the deck through the wild Arctic gales
Knew the tight grip of fear as the cold sea swept o'er me
And I soon learned the truth of the old trawling tales
"Fair Isle to Labrador
Bear Isle and Norway
And cold Greenland shore
Learning me trade with the men of the sea"
And in between trips, well, the town couldn't hold me
A two-day tycoon with me head full of rum
A girl on each arm and a pocket soon empty
Live now and pay later, there's hard days to come
"Fair Isle to Labrador
Bear Isle and Norway
And cold Greenland shore
Learning me trade with the men of the sea"
Now I know every hull as it tops the horizon
I've learned all the tricks of the trawl-fishing trade
Know the sea as provider, betrayer, and taker
I've got me mate's ticket, me future is made
As a skipper at last, I stand tall on the dockside
From the boy to the man, to the master of men
Now the ocean is mine as we slip from the harbour
And back to the sea to start learning again
"Fair Isle to Labrador
Bear Isle and Norway
And cold Greenland shore
Learning me trade with the men of the sea
Learning me trade with the men of the sea"