"They tell me ye are a sea-farin' man.

Hev ye ever been sea-farin' down in them waters, off the West Indies?" "No."

"Who tol' ye I were once a sea-farin' man?" "I guessed it.

The people here ain't much to see Jes' common folks like you an' me, Doin' the ordinary tasks Which life of everybody asks: Old Dr. Green, still farin' 'round To where his patients can be found, An' Parson Hill, serene o' face, Carryin' God's message every place, An' Jim, who keeps the grocery store

They're bonnie fish and halesome farin'; Buy my caller herrin', new drawn frae the Forth.

Buy my caller herrin', They're bonnie fish and halesome farin'; Buy my caller herrin', new drawn frae the Forth.

An' when the creel o' herrin' passes, Ladies clad in silks and laces, Gather in their braw pelisses, Toss their heads and screw their faces; Buy my caller herrin', They're bonnie fish and halesome farin'; Buy my caller herrin', new drawn frae the Forth.

At a word be aye your dealin', Truth will stand when a' things failin'; Buy my caller herrin', They're bonnie fish and halesome farin'; Buy my caller herrin', new drawn frae the Forth.

O ye may ca' them vulgar farin'; Wives and mithers maist despairin', Ca' them lives o' men.