The Sealer's Song (Lyrics)

Chorus

Diddly oh diddly...

Well, me great-grandfather was a stowaway
he sailed across a ragging sea
To an island they called the Newfoundland where he'd raise a family
He was a fisherman by trade sir and in the spring of every year
He'd have his birth and his gunny sack and be sealing off the Labrador

Now the work was hard and the days were long
And as the sweat poured down his brow
Between the oates he swore on the old man
You could hear him sing this song, he went

Chorus

Now when the ship was bellied down loaded sir with seal
They'd point her nose towards St. John's all for the merchants' glee
And down in the crews quarters when their rashins had been ate

They'd light a smoke and tell some jokes and listen to me grandpa sing, he went

Chorus

Well if you had been lucky and God was on your side
You'd make enough credit to do you a short while
And when the hunt was over with his love ones by his side
He swore he'd never return again to the ice or to the swiles, he went

Chorus

Now the times they have been changing they're not like in the past
No more you'll hear the skipper roar ready ropes and gaffs
When those ice cold winds are howling in the spring of every year
Well if you listen closely this is what you'll hear

Chorus - twice

Take her home

Chorus

The Southern Cross
Click for a larger version.

The picture of the SS Southern Cross is from Shannon Ryan's Seals and Sealers: A Pictorial History of the Newfoundland Seal Fishery. During the days of the sailing ships and the wooden walls, the men were often called upon to help tow the ship out of the harbour into the open sea. In the photograph, the men of the SS Southern Cross are on a towline assisting their ship through the ice in St. John's harbour. Even with her sails unfurled and her engine engaged, the Southern Cross needed the crow's help. The photograph was taken by R.O.E. Holloway.