The Poor Fisherman’s Boy

(This was one of Johny’s favourites)

  sung by his nephew John Tobias Pearson

T’was down in the lowlands a poor boy he did wonder
T’was down in the lowlands a poor boy he did roam
He was raggedy and rejected by his friends he was neglected
He's a poor little fisherman’s boy so far away from home.

Dark was the night and how loudly roared the thunder
The lightning did flash and the noisy billows roar
The mast he clasped around for to reach his native ground
Lost his father in the deep, oh, so far away from home.

He waited on the beach till the water rolled around him
He waited on the beach but alas, no father came
Now the poor boy he's a stranger, exposed to every danger
He's a poor little fisherman's boy so far away from home.

A lady when she heard him, she opened up her window
And into her house she begged him for to go
The tears fell from her eyes, when she heard the mournful cries
Of the poor little fisherman's boy so far away from home.

“Oh where is your mother, oh where is your father?"
“Alas, they are gone and it causes me to roam
My mother died on her pillow, my father sunk in the billow“
Cried the poor little fisherman's boy so far away from home.

She begged of her father to find him some employment
She begged of her father no more to let him roam
Her father said, “don‘t grieve thee, the boy will never leave me
He's a poor little fisherman‘s boy so far away from home."

Now many years he laboured to serve his noble master
Now many years he laboured til a man he became
And now he tells each stranger of the hardships and the danger
Of a poor little fisherman’s boy so far away from home.

 JOHNY WILSON:

The son of Bill & Kate Wilson, Johny was born on St. Patrick's Day, 1920 in Little Merasheen. When he was eleven years old he left school to go fishing with his father and in 1939 the two built a 13 ton “Jack” named the “Kathleen”, which Johny had until 1946. He spent 20 years of his life as a fisherman, fishing with George Wilson in the "Shag" out of Hr. Buffett, with Osbourne Hayden in the “M & J Hayden" out of Petite Forte both at the Kays and on the Labrador, with Abby Warren in the “Eric & Keath" out of Spencer’s Cove, as a trap man with Ryans from St. Kyran’s, the Bests, Jack Hann & Paul Wilson. In addition to this, he trapped, jigged and netted as did every other fisherman in Merasheen. For two years, 1940-41, he and almost every other man of working age in Merasheen worked on the building of the “Base” in Argentia. In 1945 he married Stella Pomroy and together they are still working on raising a family of sixteen children.

Although Johny did not have a great background of academic education, he always took an interest in community affairs, spoke his mind and possessed a great deal of natural leadership abilities. He was president of the Merasheen local of the Fisherman’s Union, a director of the Ophelia Co-operative Society, foreman of various projects in Merasheen such as the building of the Breakwater, Government wharf, etc. and was deeply involved in the planning committee headed up by Monsignor Fyme that initiated action to have a fish plant constructed in Merasheen. When work began on construction of the wharf and plant in 1954, Johny again worked as a foreman and upon completion of the plant, became manager, a position he held with Merasheen Fisheries and Fishery Products Ltd. until that company left Merasheen in 1967. He was on the Board of Directors for the fish plant and was a firm believer that the plant was the route to prosperity for Merasheen providing everyone pulled together. When Fishery Products left Merasheen in 1967, he was offered a position with that company and moved to Trepassey with his family where they still live today.

Johny came across on first impression as a hardnosed individual but we all knew that his bark was worse than his bite. Even though he chased many of us across the plant meadow with the prong always making sure he kept far enough behind, everyone big enough to lift a shovel or pick up liver knew we could count on a couple of weeks work on the plant just before the garden party each year, and of course, we have Johny to thank for the odd 1/2 holiday, when herring just had to be skinned & he persuaded Fr. Lewis to give the group a Friday afternoon off to get a head start on the weekend.