
The Kelly Song Collective
Mary And Me
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A few years ago it wasn't a crime
To jig for a couple of cod
Then the word came down that the fishery's closing
They're killin us Mary by God
So up came the nets and the anchors
Piled like bones on the wharf
And the boats that once were our livelihood
Are dried up and rotting on shore
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Well I'm not so young that I can not recall
That we were betrayed once before
We packed up our families our homes and our lives
And headed them down to the shore
Across the bay went our children
And some with their houses in tow
Leaving behind some four hundred years
But Joey's too stupid to know
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That these waters have long been my home
And our lives have come from the sea
I hope and I pray there'll be better times
For my family for Mary and me
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Now as I row past the lighthouse
With a jigger and line at my feet
I am proud and I am justified
I can still take my cod from the sea
I know that I'm breakin the law
It's a law that I cannot obey
I'm a fisherman born and raised me son
They can not take that away
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Here as I stand above sailor Jack's hill
And think how I loved this town
They're still playin ball and I can not believe
Cause nobody's stayin around
Where will we be in a decade?
My choice it isn't to be
Our kids have all gone to Toronto
But we are folk of the sea
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© Michael Worthington Music 1994
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One of the Newfoundland trilogy.