|
09 Jul 08 - 07:41 AM (#2384516) Subject: Lyric explanation From: kendall Archie Fisher wrote a song about the sad condition of commercial fishing. He calls it, "The Final Trawl", and there is a word I don't know the meaning of. and the final trawl scarcely nets a cran..What is a cran? |
|
09 Jul 08 - 07:44 AM (#2384522) Subject: RE: Lyric explanation From: Phil Edwards OED: A measure of capacity for fresh herrings as caught; fixed by the Fisheries Board at 37 gallons (about 750 fish). Up to 1815 the cran was measured by heaping full a herring-barrel with the ends taken out, which was then lifted, leaving the heap on the ground or floor. In 1816, the Commissioners for the Herring Fishery fixed the capacity of the 'cran' at 42 gallons, Old Wine Measure, which in 1832 was raised to 45 gallons, 42 gallons when 'pined' being found insufficient to make a barrel of bung-packed herrings. In 1852 the contents were given in Imperial measure as 37 gals., making, when pined, a barrel of 30 gals. You'll be wondering about 'pined' - I know I am. OED: To dry or cure (fish, meat, etc.) by exposure to the weather. |
|
09 Jul 08 - 07:45 AM (#2384523) Subject: RE: Lyric explanation From: GUEST,CrazyEddie From an online dictionary: "Cran a measure of fish, about 750 herrings, 1797." See also "The Shoals of Herring" "With a hundred cran of the silver darlings, that we'd taken from the Shoals of herring" |
|
09 Jul 08 - 08:52 AM (#2384595) Subject: RE: Lyric explanation From: Snuffy We took crans, they take tons And no-one bloody cares. Cheap Boat, Jon Heslop |
|
09 Jul 08 - 08:48 PM (#2385277) Subject: RE: Lyric explanation-'cran' in Fisher's 'Final Tr From: kendall And there it is. Thanks for the explanation. In our sardine fishery we use that old measure, the Hogshead. (17.5 bushels) |
|
10 Jul 08 - 08:35 AM (#2385592) Subject: RE: Lyric explanation-'cran' in Fisher's 'Final Trawl' From: Richard Bridge Plenty of posters here still do that.. |