WOODY GUTHRIE - TALKING FISHING BLUES lyrics

rate me

I went down to the fishing hole,

And I set down with my fishing pole;

Somethin' grabb'd my hook and it got my bait

And Jerked me out in the middle of the lake.

Huh it was some jump boy,

I got sunk, kinda baptized on credit.

Fishin' down on th' muddy bank,

Felt a pull an' give a big yank,

I drug out three old rubber boots,

A Ford radiator an' a Chevrolet coop

(Nothin' but Junk, so I handed it in

For National Defence).

Settin' in a boat with a bucket of beer,

Hadn't caught nuthin' but didn't much care,

I guess I was pretty well satisfied,

Had my little woman right by my side

(Takin' it easy, just waitin'

Worm been gone off-a that hook for a couple of hours.

I was busy).

When you go fishin', tell y' what to do,

Go set down by the grassy dew,

Take a piece of string, tie it on yo' pole,

Throw it way out in th' middle of th' hole.

Find you a good shady tree and then just set down.

(Go to sleep, forget all about it

Can't catch nuthin' here anyways.)

Well I walked out to a sandy bar,

And I caught myself a big alligator gar,

Drug him home across my back,

Tail was dragging a mile and a half,

Flippin' an' floppin'. I sold him for a quarter.

(Shot craps, got in Jall.)

Jumped in the river and went down deep,

There was a hundred pound cat-fish lying there asleep,

Well I jumped on his back and rode him all aroun'

Saddled him up and I came into town.

People came runnin', lookin', dogs a-barkin'

(Kids a-squallin').

Early one mornin' I took me a notion,

To go out fishin' in the middle of the ocean,

Well, throwed me a line, I got me a shark,

I didn't get him home till way past dark.

(Was he a man-eater, tough customer.

But he wasn't quite tough enough.)

Late last night I had me a dream,

I was out fishin' in a whiskey stream,

Baited my hook with apple-jack,

Threw out a drink, drug a gallon back.

(Done pretty good till the creek run dry.

I give the fish back to the finance company.)