Last of the Riverfolk Lyrics

Song maker, I'm tickled that thou'st sought me

Nipper's the name, last of the tribe

Last of the long line of riverfolk

Hereabouts alive

I daily use my wits upon the water

Now I'll leave my nets and talk with thee

Just a quiet man in a ten foot clinker keel

Just happy to be me

Centuries of toil and the savvy of the craft

Legends and rich river lore

Will all soon fade when I put from the aft

To leave this homely shore

With one slow eye and two arms that are strong

My good eye on where the salmon run

In the eddies and the whorls of the tides

The passing of the fish on Severnside

Oh, Sabrina, I hear your song

Oh, Sabrina, guide me safely home

Oh, Sabrina

Severn flood - more like the sea

Your lifetimes of flow have claimed all of me

You reach to the edges of the world

From Beachley loam to Austcliff is my run

And sometimes on up the Wye for a spin

Oh, that's where I've always have my fun

My basket's always full when I heave her in

Yes, I've netted, hooked and putchered a few

Of the salmon, which never yield without a fight

Oh, brazen fish, so brave, so bright, so true

For your gift I pray a prayer both day and night

Oh, Sabrina, I hear your song

Oh, Sabrina, guide me safely home

Oh, Sabrina

Now, a fisher thinks as a fisher sees

He banks on the shoals, rides the tides till late

Primes his lines, plants nets and smells the breeze

And bets on the shifting sands of fate

Songmaker, thank 'ee for heeding my tales

Good folk, bless you all, sing as one

For the past is soon forgotten, memory fails

Water, words whispered - then gone

Oh, Sabrina, I hear your song

Oh, Sabrina, guide me safely home

Oh, Sabrina