Shooting Down the Yuclataws

We’re shooting down the Yuclataws,
A ten knot surge running through the draws,
And well-fed baldies watching how we fly;
Our silvery load will turn to gold,
So keep away from the Devil’s Hole;
When I make port, I’ll sure be feeling high,

All the crew, we’re full of cheer,
We caught enough fish to make a fine year,
I’ll winter in a warm and cozy place;
But I won’t forget the ones who lost,
Those who paid a terrible cost,
They fell forever from the ocean’s grace,

REFRAIN:   But if you marry the sea, you better love the life,
The old girl makes a demanding wife;
Give your mind to ev’rything she says.
And if you work the saltchuck
With a loving skill and a bit of luck,
She’ll pay you in a hundred thousand ways.

BRIDGE:     Remember the crew comin’ down Fitzhugh,
Too drunk to pay the sea her due,
Pounding twenty foot caps across the Sound;
I heard that when their engine failed,
She gave to them no time to bail,
And swallowed them all, not one was ever found.

And then there’s crazy Gillnet Bob,
‘Shot at every whale and seal he saw,
They found his boat adrift in Broughton Strait;
An empty boot stood by his drum,
And a hollow glove still gripped his gun;
I believe she’s turned him into dogfish bait.

REFRAIN:

Many a time we nailed a set,
Many a time we brailed the net,
I love to hear the skipper shout, “Inside!”
Sockeye, coho, hump and dog,
West coast wind or ‘Charlotte fog,
It seems we’re always running with the tide.

And now..[Repeat verse 1]