Let Her Go Boys

Let her go boys, let her go

The fish are on the grounds

And they're lying on the bottom boys

So let your bait hooks down

Let her go boys, let her go

I heard the captain say

By the grace of God

We will bend our rods

On northern cod today

On the fifth day of September

In two thousand and sixteen

We set out from South Dildo

And we travelled at full steam

With Captain Stanford at the wheel

And Berkley by his side

We sailed that day on Trinity Bay

With the rising of the tide

There were other boats before us

As we gathered in the arm

The day was warm and breezy

But the wind did us no harm

We were searching for some cod fish

As we drifted on the bay

And before too long I had one on

When I heard the captain say

Let her go boys, let her go

The fish are on the grounds

And they're lying on the bottom boys

So let your bait hooks down

Let her go boys, let her go

I heard the captain say

By the grace of God

We will bend our rods

On northern cod today

There's been many years before us

Since our fathers put to see

With hand lines, traps and jiggers

For the inshore fishery

Then the factory freezer trawlers came

From many foreign lands

And they changed our way of living

On this rock called Newfoundland

There are many Newfoundlanders

Who are living far away

And they're longing to come home again

To live around the bay

Where the city lights are missing

And the ocean waves do roar

When the little boats set sail

From Newfoundland and Labrador

Let her go boys, let her go

The fish are on the grounds

And they're lying on the bottom boys

So let your bait hooks down

Let her go boys, let her go

I heard the captain say

By the grace of God

We will bend our rods

On northern cod today

There's a way of life worth living

That money cannot buy

And if we do not change our ways

Our fishery will die

We will reap a bitter harvest

From a sea consumed by greed

If we ignore the laws of God

And take more than we need

Let her go boys, let her go

The fish are on the grounds

And they're lying on the bottom boys

So let your bait hooks down

Let her go boys, let her go

I heard the captain say

By the grace of God

We will bend our rods

On northern cod today

By the grace of God

We will bend our rods

On northern cod today

Let her go boys, let her go

Written by Bruce Moss

To God be the glory