“The Eight Famous Fishermen”
Description
Eight famous fishermen are "descendents of Adam and offsprings of Cain." The eight are named and described. Then Helen Creighton is described "a-looking for tales And all that she found was six fish without scales"
Notes
After murdering his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8), God "put a mark" upon Cain (4:15), the nature of which is not described (though it didn't keep him from having children -- see 4:17-24).
If one takes the Bible literally, these descendants should have been wiped out in the flood, but there are quite a few later references to Cain's offspring -- e.g. Grendel in _Beowulf_. - RBW
References
- Creighton-Maritime, pp. 192-193, "The Eight Famous Fishermen" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Roud #2718
- BI, CrMa192