Better I'Spose

All the by’s down by the cove
Where the fish is dried and the boats are tied
They fights about where the lights should go
All the by’s down by the cove

Well we had a fire back in ‘92
And the slums survived and the shops all died
And the home was down to the brick and steel
We put up shack down on Carter’s Hill

Put some clapboard down with galvanized nails
Bring the water in with buckets and pails
We’re froze
And we never know what pond we’re on
With the flies and the mud and the smell and the bog
We’re lost on Maggoty Cove Pond

Sure that could be anywhere
We names our places by the smell in the air and move on
Like Fleur de Lys or Stinking Cove
Freshwater and Jerry’s Nose, Salt Pond

All the by’s down by the cove
Where the factory lies and the whale meat stowed
And the harpoon’s gone and the factory sold
We loves’em now and they won’t be culled

Put some clapboard down with galvanized nails
Bring the water in with buckets and pails
We’re froze
And we never know what pond we’re on
With the flies and the mud and the smell and the bog
We’re lost on Maggoty Cove Pond

Sure that could be anywhere
We names our places by the smell in the air and move on
Like Fleur de Lys or Stinking Cove
Freshwater and Jerry Nose, Salt Pond

All the birds down by the cove
Well they don’t care if the fish gets sold
And they’ll eat you out of the house and home
Take the trash with their belly’s full
Change the name down by the cove
After the war, which is better I’spose
But the men still fights over the lights you know
We won’t see a fish or a flake or a boat

written by Marc Poirier