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Traditional Celtic Music, Scottish Songs & Border Ballads
Scots' musician, songwriter, & balladeer.
Hazel Whyte
Scots' Music
Shoals Of
Herring
A simple brief
thought on Scottish
Independance.

Were the outdated
union not of some very
high value to England and
the English, why would
they fight so to try to
keep it?

There are only so many
slices to a pie, for one to
have more, another must
have less.

Lastly - to those Scottish
"Loyalists" - to whom are
you loyal?
Scots royalty died in the
1700's so it can be no
Scots crown - And
certainly not it appears to
those who came before,
that bled for Scotland
and her freedom !  
In the words
of Burns, as he
wrote from the heart.

Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled,
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led,
Welcome to your gory bed,
Or to victorie.

Now's the day, and now's the hour;
See the front o' battle lour;
See approach proud Edward's power,
Chains and slaverie.

Wha would be a traitor-knave?
Wha can fill a coward's grave?
Wha sae base as be a Slave?
Let him turn and flie:

Wha for Scotland's king and law,
Freedom's sword will strongly draw,
Free-man stand, or free-man fa',
Let him follow me.

By Oppression's woes and pains!
By your Sons in servile chains!
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall be free!

Lay the proud Usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
Liberty's in every blow!
Let us Do - or Die!!!

Choose your destiny.
With our nets and gear we're faring
On the wild and wasteful ocean.
Its there that we hunt and we earn our bread,
As we hunted for the shoals of herring.

O it was a fine and a pleasant day,
Out of Yarmouth harbour I was faring,
As a cabinboy on a sailing lugger,
For to go and hunt the shoals of herring.

O the work was hard and the hours long,
And the treatment, sure it took some bearing.
There was little kindness and the kicks were
many,
As we hunted for the shoals of herring.

O we fished the Swarth and the Broken Bank,
I was cook and I'd a quarter sharing.
And I used to sleep standing on my 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 were bearing.
With a hundred cran of 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 Isles,
As you're following the shoals of herring.

O I earned my keep and I paid my 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.
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