The Fisherman Song

[Verse 1: Omar Musa]
The ocean in a thousand pieces when the moon is bright
He was just waiting for a girl to walk into his life
Fate has got its mind made when you shoot the dice
He saw her walking in and drank his bourbon to the ice
He beckoned her to come close, look into her eyes
Saw himself reflected in ‘em, swimming in the night
The room started spinning, moon glimmer supersized
Woke up on a fishing boat drifting through the black tides
Before he knew it, he was working as a slave
Twenty hour days and the reef like a heady maze
Beaten everyday by the captain of the sailboat
Hauling in the nets as the white sun blaze
He was forever hungry, he wondered if he’d see his country again
Saw things he’d never unsee
Once he saw a man whipped to death on the mast
For disobedience, body eaten up by the sharks
No sleep, no dreams, just forever ache
Just the desperation in his weathered face
Just the bitter fruit of longing on his tastebuds
Twelve months later, he decided to escape

[Hook: Omar Musa]
To the moon I pray
Lord give me faith, let me find my way
Tell my mother to wait
The voice of the sea says “nothing is safe”
To the moon I pray
Lord give me faith to survive the day
Tell my people to wait
There’s a million different ways you get tricked by fate

[Verse 2: Omar Musa]
His heart is in a thousand pieces when the moon is bright
The captain scrutinise him close with a shooter’s eye
He said "you try to flee this boat, then you know that you will die
We’ll cut your throat and throw your battered body off the side”
Our man turned his back, kept on hauling in the catch thinking he could cut the captain up before he could react
But he lie in wait for the right occasion, face was calm but his mind was racing
Feeling like his life was fading, deeper the water he’s navigating

Till one day, they refueled on the coast
It was then that he knew that’d have to make the most
So he lay down and he played ill, with a fever that burned, till they were close
Hit the captain in the face, leapt up over the stern
Swam right onto the beach, it was tears of pain and happiness
Sleeping in an alley where the trash heaps and the rats nest
Begging on the street corner, living hand to mouth
A fisherman took pity on him, let him in the house
Gave a corner to sleep, water and rice, the family kind
They got him working on a trawler at night
Our man flinched at it, but he had to earn his keep
'Cause they were poor as hell & it was better than the street
It’s been three years since then and he’s still with 'em
A member of the family, but working for a pittance
He still thinks of home every day
Just another victim of the billion dollar fishing trade

[Hook: Omar Musa]
To the moon I pray
Lord give me faith, let me find my way
Tell my mother to wait
The voice of the sea says “nothing is safe”
To the moon I pray
Lord give me faith to survive the day
Tell my people to wait
There’s a million different ways you get tricked by fate