When Last I Was a Fisherman

When last I was a fisherman
I'd watch the storms rise up from the sea
And see it as a sign to me
That the sea was still my mistress and teasing me for love

When last I was a fisherman I'd watch the whale fish blow
And rise up from the darkest deep real slow
And see it as a sign to me
That she was still my mistress and teasing me for love

I never knew why she loved me
I never tried for her favor
I wouldn't have known how
I wouldn't have known how

And I didn't have the know how
To heel and toe her, heel and toe her
I only knew that she was my mistress
And teasing me for love

When last I was a fisherman I lay along the sea wall
My body pressed against the blue of her occupation elsewhere
She was busy with the other boats
But I knew she'd turn her belly back to me when she was free

When last I was a fisherman I'd stand against the sea
My skiff adrift in ecstasy the mast a-singing, the salt a-stinging
I'd see it as a sign to me
That she was still my mistress and just teasing me for love
I never knew why she loved me

When last I was a fisherman I lay awake one night
Her cooing and raving nearby and I waited in youthful eagerness
For the dawn's first hint of light for my mistress to come
For she to come to me I knew she was coming

I could feel her coming
And I waited and I waited and I waited and I waited
'Til I raised my voice unto the night and only heard a baby's cry
I never knew why she loved me