Final Trawl

Archie Fisher MBE (b 1939), Scottish folksinger and songwriter, wrote this song.  Archie hosted his own BBC Scottish radio programme for more than thirty years. A “cran” is 37 gallons of fresh herrings (about 750 fish). 

The Final Trawl 


Now it's three long years since we made her pay
Sing haul away, my laddie-o
And the owners say that she's had her day
And sing haul away, my laddie-o

So pull away for the final trawl
sing...
It's an easy pull, for the catch is small
sing...

Now its stow your gear lads and batten down
Then I'll turn the wheel, lads, and turn her round

And we'll join "The Venture" and "The Morning Star"
Riding High and empty behind the bar

For I'd rather beach her on the skerry rock
Than to see her torched on the breakers dock

And when I die, you can stow me down
In her rusty hold, where the breakers sound

Then I'll make the haven and the Fiddler's Green
Where the grub is good and the bunks are clean

I fished a lifetime, boy and man
An the final trawl scarcely nets a cran