FIGHTING THE COD WAR
Dave Pearce
Tune: Waltzing Matilda

Once a Fleetwood trawlerman set sail for Iceland,
Determined to catch some fish for our tea;
He didn't have a rifle, a tin hat or a bayonet,
He was fighting the Cod War for you and for me.

Chorus:-
        Fighting the Cod War, Fighting the Cod War,
        Who'll come a'fighting the Cod War with me?
        Against the gunboats, the Icelandic gunboats,
        Thumbing their noses at the Royal Navee!

Up came the Odin, racing like a thoroughbred
Across the trawler's bows, passing ever so near;
First it blared a warning, then Odin chopped their fishing gear,
Fled into the night, Skipper's curses in his ear.

In came the "Andrew", collision course and pink gin;
As the trawl warps snapped, lashing out from the sea;
No-one got killed, but that was just a lucky chance,
Who'd want to be fighting the Cod War with me?

Now the Fleetwood trawlerman doesn't go to Iceland;
He's drawing the dole and the U.A.B.
His ship's gone for scrap, and he'll never get another one,
He's the real loser, the Cod War casualty.

Sung by Dick Gillingham and Ged Higson

Iceland's gradual extension of its territorial waters first reduced and finally eliminated British fishing vessels' access to the fishing grounds around Iceland's continental shelf, many of which had been discovered and developed by Fleetwood trawlermen:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod_Wars

Dave Pearce, then a journalist with the Fleetwood Chronicle, sailed with a Fleetwood trawler to Icelandic waters during the last Cod War episode.

The "Andrew" is a nickname for the Royal Navy.

A BBC Four documentary "The History of the Cod Wars" has some fascinating archive material. It can be found on YouTube, Part 1 (of 5) here:-

History of the Cod Wars Part 1 (YouTube)

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5