I'm standing here all by my strand,
watch the waves roll on the sand,
The sea breeze bouncing off the land
blows dirt into my eyes;
I mind when we were active lads,
in fishing boats went with our dads,
To do what work we had when we was boys.
We'd go to sea in dories,
we'd go to sea in skiffs,
Set lobster pots in spring,
shoot autumn seabirds off the cliffs;
And if the times got tougher,
what's the point of making noise,
Oh, how hard did we work when we was boys.
When we was boys, when we was boys;
Oh, how hard did we work when we was boys.
From water would our living take,
the women all the fish would make,
Spread them out upon the flake,
and hope for sunny skies;
Leave early on a foggy morn,
Work until you're weary worn,
Steer your way home by the horn,
when we was boys.
Where a crowd of youngsters climb
around the rocks upon the beach,
Where now the boats lie idle
and the fish are out of reach;
Look down upon the harbour
when you go out on the rise,
It looks nothing like it did when we was boys.
When we was boys, when we was boys;
It looks nothing like it did when we was boys.
The ocean's now a barren gray,
we've lost our old-fashion ways,
Folks are moving from the bay,
it's a thing I did despise;
We who stay live with the fear
of growing older every year,
We prayed our children would stay near,
just like when we was boys.
We never had much money
but we got by all the same,
We never begged for handouts,
we weren't looking to lay blame;
We practiced self-reliance,
hailed to each other's cries,
But times have changed so much
since we was boys.
Since we was boys, since we was boys;
Yes, times have changed so much
since we was boys.
Today we look to government
instead of being independent,
Now the money's all been spent,
we've witnessed its demise;
There's times we've been through thick and thin,
been knocked down got up again,
We always found a way to win,
when we was boys.
Now the foghorn sends a lonely call
on its way across the swell,
The lighthouse keeper's been replaced
with a flashlight on the hill;
Who was it said that elders
are experienced and wise,
No one wants to hear about when we was boys.
When we was boys, when we was boys;
No one wants to hear about when we was boys.
When we was boys, when we was boys;
Yes, times have changed so much
since we was boys.
