| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 20. The Fisherman’s Hymn |
| | | By Alexander Wilson |
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| THE OSPREY sails above the sound, | |
| The geese are gone, the gulls are flying; | |
| The herring shoals swarm thick around, | |
| The nets are launched, the boats are plying; | |
| Yo ho, my hearts! let ’s seek the deep, | 5 |
| Raise high the song, and cheerily wish her, | |
| Still as the bending net we sweep, | |
| “God bless the fish-hawk and the fisher!” | |
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| She brings us fish—she brings us spring, | |
| Good times, fair weather, warmth, and plenty, | 10 |
| Fine stores of shad, trout, herring, ling, | |
| Sheepshead and drum, and old-wives dainty. | |
| Yo ho, my hearts! let ’s seek the deep, | |
| Ply every oar, and cheerily wish her, | |
| Still as the bending net we sweep, | 15 |
| “God bless the fish-hawk and the fisher!” | |
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| She rears her young on yonder tree, | |
| She leaves her faithful mate to mind ’em; | |
| Like us, for fish, she sails to sea, | |
| And, plunging, shows us where to find ’em. | 20 |
| Yo ho, my hearts! let ’s seek the deep, | |
| Ply every oar, and cheerily wish her, | |
| While the slow bending net we sweep, | |
| “God bless the fish-hawk and the fisher!“ | |
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