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