The Shoals of Herring

"The Shoals of Herring" (Roud 13642) is a ballad, written by Ewan MacColl for the third of the original eight BBC Radio ballads[http://www.dickgaughan.co.uk/songs/texts/shoalshe.html] Notes on the song, by Dick Gaughan. Singing the Fishing, which was first broadcast on August 16, 1960.[http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~zierke/lloyd/songs/theshoalsofherring.html] Notes on the song.

Ewan MacColl writes that the song was based on the life of Sam Larner, a fisherman and traditional singer from Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk, England.{{cite book

| last = MacColl

| first = Ewan

| title = Ewan MacColl - Peggy Seeger Songbook

| publisher = Oak Publications

| date = 1963

| location = New York

}}{{rp|46}}

Liam Clancy, who performed the song for decades, tells a more nuanced story, saying that MacColl "tape recorded all the old fisherman up along the east coast of England. And he never used one word of his own. ... He rhymed the lines that the fishermen had given him, and he made it into a song..."[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYQrWVSV5Ag?t=38 Liam Clancy - Shoals Of Herring], at 0:38–1:07, published on the internet 14 December 2008.

It has been recorded by The Spinners, The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers, The Corries, Three City Four (Martin Carthy, Leon Rosselson, Ralph Trainer and Marian McKenzie),{{cn|date=December 2020}} Astrid Nijgh (in Dutch, as De scholen haring),Discogs - [https://www.discogs.com/release/1992700-Astrid-Nijgh-De-Razende-Bol Astrid Nijgh – De Razende Bol] Schooner Fare, Patrick Clifford and Breabach, The Longest Johns . It was also featured on the soundtrack for the 2013 film Inside Llewyn Davis, performed in the film by Oscar Isaac (accompanied on the soundtrack by Punch Brothers).

Being a well-documented song publicised by Mudcat,{{cite web |url=https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=54563|title=The Shoals Of Herring on Mudcat.org|access-date=24 January 2024}} and Mainly Norfolk,{{cite web|url=https://www.mainlynorfolk.info/ewan.maccoll/songs/theshoalsofherring.html |title= The Shoals Of Herring|access-date=24 January 2024}} the song was recorded by Jon Boden and Oli Steadman for inclusion in their respective lists of daily folk songs "A Folk Song A Day"{{cite web|url=https://www.afolksongaday.com/?page_id=5354|title=A Folk Song A Day: Song List|date=12 October 2016 |access-date=24 January 2024}} and "365 Days Of Folk".{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@365daysoffolk|title=365 Days Of Folk: Song List|access-date=24 January 2024}}

In an example of the folk process, the song's title and refrain have altered to "The Shores of Erin" when sung by some Irish traditional singers.{{cite book| last1=Linstead|first1=Stephen| editor1-last=Pullen|editor1-first=Alison|editor2-last=Beech|editor2-first=Nic|editor3-last=Sims|editor3-first=David| title=Exploring Identity: Concepts and Methods|date=2007| publisher=Palgrave Macmillan| location=London| isbn=978-1-4039-8983-3| pages=251–273|chapter=Chapter 14: Exploring Culture and Collective Identity with the Radio-Ballads}}