| Oh... This is the place where the fishermen gather, | |
| In oilskins and boots and Cape Annes battened down. | |
| All sizes of figures with squid lines and jiggers, | |
| They congregate here on the squid-jiggin' grounds. | |
| Some are working their jiggers while others are yarnin', | |
| There's some standin' up but there's more lying down. | |
| While all kinds of fun, jokes and tricks are begun | |
| As they wait for the squid on the squid-jiggin' grounds. | |
| There's men of all ages and boys in the bargain; | |
| There's old Billy Cave and there's young Raymond Brown | |
| There's a red rantin' Tory out there in a dory, | |
| A-runnin' down Squires on the squid-jiggin' ground. | |
| There's men from the Harbour,there's men from the Tickle | |
| In all kinds of motor boats, green, grey and brown | |
| Right yonder is Bobby and with him is Nobby | |
| They're chawin' hard tack on the squid jiggin'ground | |
| God bless my sou'wester, there's Captain John Chaffey | |
| He's the best hand at squid jiggin' here I'll be bound | |
| Hello! what's the row?, why - he's jiggin' one now | |
| The very first squid on the squid jiggin' ground | |
| The man with the whiskers is old Jacob Steele | |
| He's gettin' well up, but he's still pretty sound | |
| While Uncle Bob Hawkins wears six pair o' stockins | |
| Whenever he's out on the squid jiggin' ground. | |
| Holy Smoke! what a scuffle, all hands are excited | |
| 'Tis a wonder to me that there's nobody drowned | |
| There's a bustle, confusion, a wonderful tussle | |
| They're all jiggin' squids on the squid jiggin' ground | |
| Say's Bobby "The squids are on top of the water | |
| I just got me jiggers 'bout one fathom down." | |
| But a squid in the boat squirted right down his throat | |
| And he's swearin' like mad on the squid jiggin' ground | |
| There's poor Uncle Billy, his whiskers are spattered | |
| With spots of the squid juice that's flying around; | |
| One poor little boy got it right in the eye, | |
| But they don't give a darn on the squid-jiggin' ground. | |
| Now if ever you feel inclined to go squiddin' | |
| Leave you white shirts and collars behind in the town. | |
| And if you get cranky without your silk hanky | |
| You'd better steer clear of the squid-jiggin' ground. | |
With thanks to Harry Martin who gave us the last two lines of verse three and the first two lines of verse 4 (we'd put our 4 lines all in one verse [his seem to make more sense]) as well as verses 5,6,7 and 9.
With further adjustments to the verse order after running across Edith Fowkes "Folksongs of Canada" on December 28, 2004
With further minor refinements to the words after running across the book "My Newfoundland" by Arthur Scammell in April 2005