Talking Fishing Blues: Lyrics

Woody Guthrie

• CD Songs Of Woody Guthrie

I went down to the fishing hole
And I set down with my fishing pole
Something grabbed my hook and it got my bait
And jerked me out in the middle of the lake
It was some jump, boy I got sunk
Kind of baptized on credit

Fishing down by the muddy bank
And I felt a pull and I give a big yank
I drug out three old rubber boots
A Ford radiator
And a Chevrolet coupe
Nothing but junk
So I handed it in
For national defense

Sitting in the boat with a bucket a beer
Hadn't caught nothing but I didn't much care
Guess I was pretty well satisified
I had my little woman right by my side
Just taking it easy
Worm been gone off the hook for several hours
I was busy

When you go fishing I'll tell you what to do
Just go sit down by the grassy loo
And take a piece of string
And tie it on your pole
And throw it way out in the middle of the hole
Then find yourself a shade tree
Just sit down and go to sleep
Forget all about it
Can't catch nothing here anyway

Well I walked out on a sandy bar
And caught myself a big alligator gar
Well I drug him home across my back
His tail was dragging a mile and a half
just flipping and flopping
I sold him for a quarter
shot craps
Got in jail

Jumped in the river and I went down deep
There was a hundred pound catfish
Lying there asleep
Well I jumped on his back
And I rode him all around
Saddled him up and come to town
People come a-runnin'
They was lookin'
Dogs a-barking and kids a-squaling

Well early one morning I took me a notion
To go out fishin' in the middle of the ocean
Well I threw out my line
And I got me a shark
And I didn't get home till a-way past dark
he was a maneater
A tough customer
But he wasn't quite tough enough

Well late last night I had me a dream
I went out fishing in a whiskey stream
I baited my hook with apple jack
I threw out a drink
I drug a gallon back
And I done pretty good too
Till the stream run dry
And I give the fish back to the finance company

Of note:

Hard to imagine anyone other than Cisco could make this nonsense sound so entertaining. Simple quiet guitar, a friendly tall-tale-teller, feel just like you're sitting around the campfire. A treat that captures the flavor and fun beautifully.

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