Red Heron

For twenty long years I fished the sound
I was a highliner who never backed down
They’d see me coming with a loaded deck
Oh the Red Heron, no one’s beat her yet

My old man thinks I can’t quit
But he ain’t seen this last set
The skiff man is running and the block will haul
The heaviest net, full of that pink gold

Never thought I’d give it up
But now I’m counting down the days
I finally learned that life’s too short
To keep living hard this way

We were set up good when a call rang out
The Mary Anne she was coming about
I learned young that you can’t flinch
So we held true and we took the hit

It wasn’t the first hit, but it was the last
Oh the Red Heron, she sank so fast
And it was cold in the dark dark night
Nothing but stars and water in sight

Never thought I’d give it up
But now I’m counting down the days
I finally learned that life’s too short
To keep living hard this way

In the end it was luck that saved the crew
And I got nothing left to prove

Never thought I’d give it up
But now I’m counting down the days
I finally learned that life’s too short
To keep living hard this way