[Intro]
One, two

[Verse 1]
When he was young, you'd not find him doing well in school
His mind would turn unto the waters
Always the focus of adolescent ridicule
He has no time for farmer’s daughters
Alienated from the clique society
A lonely boy finds peace in fishing
His mother says, "John, this is not the way life's supposed to be
Don't you see the life that you are missing?"

[Chorus]
And he says
"When I grow up, I want to be
One of the harvesters of the sea
I think before my days are done
I want to be a fisherman"

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 2]
Now years gone by, we find a man who rules the sea
He sets out on a dark May morning
To bring his catch back to this small community
He doesn’t see the danger dawning
Four hours up, oh, the ocean swelled and swelled
The fog rolled in, it started raining
The starboard bow, oh my God, we're going down
They do not hear his frantic mayday
[Chorus]
As he says
"When I grow up, I want to be
One of the harvesters of the sea
I think before my days are done
I want to be a fisherman"

[Outro]
"I'll live and die a fisherman"
Calling John the fisherman
Calling John the fisherman
We're calling John the fisherman
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah