Lammermoore.

There’re many fish living in the sea;
There’re many people living on land.
Cried the people living on land,
“O there’s NO fish living in the sea.

So let’s make boats and nets on land,
And let’s go look for fish out at sea.
With nets we’re SURE to find in the sea
SOME fish.” So saying, the people on land

They made ready, they set off to sea,
Casting the nets they made on land,
But no fish were found. The horn on land
Called out to them, “Come back from the sea,

There’s a storm coming in, fast; dry land
Is where it’s safest.” “O empty sea!”
(They cried) “O lifeless, lifeless sea!”
They packed their nets, and went back to land.

“Yet we MUST have fish, though the sea
Be barren.” And so saying, they made on land
A vast pond, to rear on land
Fish who (though fish) ’d never see

The sea. And so they’d fish on land,
And they ate it. “Who, really, needs the sea?”
But the land kind's not as good as the sea
Kind. “O pooh and pooh,” the land

People said, “land and sea,
A pox on both their fishes!” and “Land
Needs not sea! We’ve COWS on land!”
So the land people left the sea
To the fish who’re NOT in the sea.