A man in the forest once asked of me,
"How many strawberries grow in the sea?"
I answered this fella, as I thought good,
"As many as red herrings grow in the wood."
Good friends gather round, and listen to me,
And I'll tell you a tale of a fish from the sea;
She was a great tuna, Charlia her name,
Her untidy demise brought her some fame;
After All Hallows Eve, or so good folks say,
She was hauled back to Gloucester early next day;
But the season had closed, what was Chummy to do?
Charlia dis-covered would raise a great hue.
His decision was swift, though somewhat bizarre,
He hitched up Charlia to his girlfriend's new car;
And on down Revere to a friend's house he sped,
Dragging that tuna, first removing her head;
Chummy's friend took one look, exclaimed, "No way!"
What could he do then but throw Charlia away?
So he dragged her to a woods and buried her there,
And, as Cod is my Co-Pilot, he then said a prayer.
But that's not the end to Chummy's grave sin,
For a fella had spied him, and then turned him in;
He called up the "Greenies" and told them to check,
The Pigeon Cove webcam down on the deck;
And so they nailed Chummy, locked him in jail,
Not even his girlfriend would put up his bail;
And Charlia's grave was found after a while;
She's now stored in a locker awaiting the trial.
Come all you bold fishermen, remember this song,
Abide by the season, you'll never go wrong;
Abide by the season and you'll never dread,
A night visit by Charlia without her head!
A 400-pound tuna is hauled from its grave in the woods off Revere Street in the Annisquam area of Gloucester, Massachusetts, November 1, 2017, photographer unidentified, from Gloucester Times.