In the early morn, the boats set sail,
Through fog and mist, on a salt soak trail,
For generations, they cast their nets so wide,
On the cold Atlantic, their fathers' pride.
But the years took their toll, the catches grew thin,
And whispers of the end began to spin,
Till the day it came, with a heavy hand,
The cod were gone, taken from Newfoundland.
Oh, the day the waters stilled, the day the nets lay bare,
The cod were gone, and nets were torn,
In the wake of cold despair.
The ocean's bounty, once so vast,
Faded like a distant past,
The day the waters stilled, the day the nets lay bare.
The moratorium was called, a desperate plea,
To save the fish, to heal the sea,
But the towns they wept, as boats stood still,
No longer could they chase the thrill.
The harbors once filled with life and sound,
Now echoed loss, a mournful round,
The lifeblood of a people's way,
Was lost beneath the ocean's sway.
Oh, the day the waters stilled, the day the nets lay bare,
The cod were gone, and hearts were torn,
In the wake of cold despair.
The ocean's bounty, once so vast,
Faded like a distant past,
The day the waters stilled, the day the nets lay bare.
The boats were docked, the men were lost,
The price of years, the ultimate cost,
And in their eyes, a longing stayed,
For the life they knew, now stripped away.
The children asked where the cod had gone,
And the elders sighed, "It's all but done,"
The fish that fed this island's soul,
Were no more, the sea took its toll.
Oh, the day the waters stilled, the day the nets lay bare,
The cod were gone, and hearts were torn,
In the wake of cold despair.
The ocean's bounty, once so vast,
Faded like a distant past,
The day the waters stilled, the day the nets lay bare.
Years have passed, and the ocean's face,
Holds echoes of a past embrace,
But the lessons learned and the scars we bear,
Remind us of the need for care.
For in the depths, the cod still swim,
A chance for life to start again,
And as we wait, we hold our breath,
For the sea to give, to end the death.
Oh, the day the waters stilled, the day the nets lay bare,
The cod were gone, and hearts were torn,
In the wake of cold despair.
But in the silence, voices rise,
To seek new paths beneath these skies,
On the day the waters stilled, the day the nets lay bare.
The day the waters stilled, we won't forget,
The price we paid, the endless debt,
To the sea that gave, and then took away,
We'll find our strength, come what may.