It's busk ye, me boy's, get you up on the deck And take up your stations for hauling the nets And mind up all together lads all through the night And shaking your oilskins until it's daylight With a heave and a haul and the shaking of nets
It's when we're at hauling we're living on hope The boy in the locker the lads on the ropes The fellows in the hold to our hauling the nets And shaking the herring out on to the deck With a heave and a haul and the shaking of nets
It's net after net we pull up from the sea With a haul and a shake and a one, two and three The herring are a piling around our sea boots And slithering and sliding down into the shoots With a heave and a haul and the shaking of nets
It's hour after hour we are hauling away All through the long night till the dawn of the day The captain's in the wheelhouse he's on the RT And the cook's in the galley a brewing the tea And we're heaving and hauling and shaking of nets
Now the season is over so be on your way And head for the home port to sign for your pay Your missus will be waiting to welcome you home It's so hard for a wife to be so much alone And you're finished with heaving and hauling of nets