For Newfoundland, The Cod, The Fish, The Seas, The Fishermen, A Way of Life - Here's to us!
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A Boat Like Gideon Brown's
Oh, Gideon lived across the bay
He's gettin' older now
His boat is big and strong and bold
She has a stalwart bow.
But my father's boat was second hand
One someone'd used before
And after every fishing trip
My father always swore
That someday he would save enough
To go to St. John's Town
And buy himself a big new boat
A boat like Gideon Brown's.
A boat like Gideon Brown's.
Confederation came around
And the days of old-age pension
He said, "Son, I'm saving every cent
And this you must not mention
You save the baby bonus, too
And things just might turn around
And we'll have enough to buy a boat
A boat like Gideon Brown's."
Chorus:
She can punch ahead in any gale
And ride the fishing ground
I often thought how proud I'd be
In a boat like Gideon Brown's.
In a boat like Gideon Brown's.
Many years did pass away
And Dad began to fade
He didn't talk of boats too much
He said, "Son, I'm afraid
If things don't soon improve
Then I'll be under ground
Before we ever get to see ourselves
In a boat like Gideon Brown's."
Chorus
I sat and held his hand one day
He said, "Son, that policy
The insurance is all in your name
You're the beneficiary
And when I'm gone, they'll pay you off
Then go to St. John's Town
And buy yourself a big new boat
A boat like Gideon Brown's."
Chorus (x2)
Fisherman's Lament
I stand in my doorway as the moon rises high
Over glorious ocean reflects the bright sky
My heart it is aching so much I could die
I've known only the ocean since I was a boy
Chorus:
And I spent my whole life out there on the sea
Some government bastard now takes it from me
It's not just the fish, they've taken my pride
I feel so ashamed that I just want to hide
I fished with my father so long, long ago
We were proud of our trade, and in us it did show
We held our heads high, there was lots of fish then
That was the time when we were proud men
We challenged great storms and sometimes we won
Faced death and disaster, we rose with the sun.
We worked and we toiled, we strained arm and brain
We were a proud people, will we e'er be again?
Chorus
My father is gone now, and the fish are gone too.
Abused and mis-managed, oh what can we do?
I'm too old to change, but what of my sons,
How will they know that we weren't the ones?
DFO regulations permitted the rape
Of our beautiful ocean from headland to cape
They brought in big trollers, they tore up our twine
Politicians don't care for what's yours or what's mine!
Chorus
You brave Newfoundlanders, now listen to me
Shove the package to hell, go back to the sea
If we don't stand our ground, we will fade away
And the bones of our fathers will turn into clay
And I spent my whole life out there on the sea
Some government bastard now takes it from me
It's not just the fish, they've taken my pride
I feel so ashamed that I just want to die.
Back to the sea.
