Santos

Early in the evening he began to check the fishing nets
They were already old and there was a lot to mend
The nets were stiff, weighty, cold and wet
It was a hard work and he felt the gout in his hands and his legs

When he put out to sea it still rained and it was dark
Near the coast there’s nothing more to catch so he had to sail out far
It was cold and his hands hurt hard
But he relished the wind on his face and then the clouds cleared the stars

   The boat that is rolling on the waves
   The spindrift that is moistening his face
   The salty air, he feels and tastes
   The smacking of the waves against the ship’s side
   The endlessness and beauty of the sky
   The wideness of the sea so deep and wild
   He’s been a fisherman with heart and soul his whole life

He never had been getting far from the village where he was born
He became a fisherman like his father and his grandfather before
Since he was thirteen he went along to trawl
He never went to school, never wished to be someone else or something more

He had sailed out further than ever in the hope to find something to catch
Far afield he stopped the old engine and he began to cast the nets
The nets were stiff, weighty, cold and wet
It was a hard work and he felt the gout in his hands and his legs

When he started the engine the sun began to redden the sky
And he saw the beauty and he had to think of his wife
Much too soon she departed from this life
Though she never was at sea but she shared with him his humble desire

   The boat that is rolling on the waves
   The spindrift that is moistening his face
   The salty air, he feels and tastes
   The smacking of the waves against the ship’s side
   The endlessness and beauty of the sky
   The wideness of the sea so deep and wild
   He’s been a fisherman with heart and soul his whole life

Late in the afternoon he stopped the engine and began to reel in the nets
No noteworthy catch again , there was more waste than fish he found in the end
The nets were stiff, weighty, cold and wet
A hard job for nothing and he felt the gout in his hands and his legs

He fires up the engine and into the sunset he starts back for home
He relishes the wind on his face but it sinks in that there’s nothing like before
The times have changed; the bank took almost everything he once owned
And tomorrow they will take his boat
Now he's starring at the sea, he's taking leave - this is the last speed for him;
He can’t avoid it anymore

   The boat that is rolling on the waves
   The spindrift that is moistening his face
   The salty air, he feels and tastes
   The smacking of the waves against the ship’s side
   The endlessness and beauty of the sky
   The wideness of the sea so deep and wild
   He was a fisherman with heart and soul his whole life

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