Cliffs of Baccalieu (as sung by Stan Rogers) Jack Withers,  Newfoundland,1934

Recording by Stan Rogers

We were bound home in October from the shores of Labrador
Trying to head a strong Nor'Easter and snow too
But the wind swept down upon us and the day was dark as night  
Just before we made the land at Baccalieu. 

Now we tried to clear the island as we brought her further south
But the wind from out the Nor'East stronger blew
Till our lookout soon he shouted, and there lay dead ahead
Through a snow squall loomed the rocks at Baccalieu.

But it was hard down by the tiller as we struggled with the sheets
Trying our best to haul them in a foot or two
Till our deck so sharply tilted, we could barely keep our feet
As we struggled on the rocks at Baccalieu.

Now the combers beat her under, I thought she ne'er would rise
And her main boom it was bending nigh in two
With her lee rails two foot under, three hands upon the wheel
Sure we hauled her from the rocks at Baccalieu.

To leeward was the island, to windward was the shore
And that blinding sleet could cut you through and through
But our hearts were beating gladly, for no longer could we gaze
Down to leeward at the rocks of Baccalieu.

• Labrador
  A large peninsula in Northeast North America, adjacent to the island of Newfoundland. It was traditional for Newfoundlanders from Trinity Bay and Conception Bay to fish on the coast of Labrador in summer, returning to Newfoundland in autumn.
• Baccalieu
  An island near the tip of the Bay de Verde Peninsula; its name comes from the Portugese word for dried codfish. Its sole inhabitants are birds. Baccalieu Island has the largest colony of Leach's Storm Petrel in the world (about 3,000,000 pairs).
  Baccalieu channel is a dangerous location for sailing vessels; there are some 20 known disasters from 1706 to 1984, with the loss of over 200 lives. In 1882, the sealer "Lion" was wrecked with 59 souls aboard. Only one body was recovered.
• tiller
  The movement of a sailing ship is controlled by the effects of wind on her sails, and the turning of the rudder, which is controlled by either a wheel or a simple lever - the tiller. Hard down by the tiller means trying to use the maximum rudder; usually done only in emergencies.
• sheets
  the ropes controlling the sails
• leeward
  In any vessel, but especially in a sailing ship, being on a lee shore is dangerous. The lee is the downward side of a ship; to have rocks close to leeward with a strong wind blowing your ship towards the rocks is one of the most dangerous situations at sea.