Shoals Of Herring Lyrics And Chords

Ewan McColl wrote this folk song. It was recorded by Ewan McColl , The Corries and The Dubliners ,the sheet music and tin whistle notes are included. Ewan has wrote a raft of great songs , many are included here. I have given a couple of versions of the guitar chords including the version as played by Luke Kelly. The song featured in the film Inside Llewyn Davis with Oscar Isaac. It was also recorded by The Clancy Brothers and. Louis Killen. The ukulele chords are now included.

With[C] our nets and [Am]gear we're[G] far[C]ing
On[C] the wild and waste[F]ful[C] oc[G]ean.
Its there[C] that we[F] hunt and we[C] earn[G] our[Am] bread
As we[C] hunted[F] for the shoals of[G] herr[C]ing

O[C] it was a fine and a pleasant day
Out of Yarmouth harbor I was[G] faring
As a[C] cabinboy on a sailing[Am] lugger
For to go and[C] hunt the[F] shoals of[G] herr[C]ing

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 homegrounds 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 Islands
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

Below is the sheet music with tin whistle notes. The version just below the whistle version is in a slightly lower key.

Below is an alternative version of the sheet music in a lower key

Here's the chords as played by Luck Kelly on his banjo.

With[C] our nets and gear we're[G] far[C]ing
On[C] the wild and waste[F]ful[C] ocean.
It's out there on the [F]deep
[C]We harvest and [F]reap [C]our bread
As we hunt the bonny [F]shoals [C]of [G]herr[C]ing


O[C] it was a fine and a pleasant day
Out of Yarmouth harbor I was[G] faring
As a[C] cabinboy on a sailing lugger
We were following the [G]shoals of Herr[C]ing

Here's the guitar chords for the key of G.

With[G] our nets and [Em]gear we're[D] far[G]ing
On[G] the wild and waste[C]ful[G] oc[D]ean.
Its there[G] that we[C] hunt and we[G] earn[D] our[Em] bread
As we[G] hunted[C] for the shoals of[D] herr[G]ing

O[G] it was a fine and a pleasant day
Out of Yarmouth harbor I was[D] faring
As a[G] cabinboy on a sailing[Em] lugger
For to go and[G] hunt the[C] shoals of[D] herr[G]ing