Talking Fishing Blues

May 10, 2025 In

Talking Fishing Blues

From the Album It Takes a Lot of People (Tribute to Woody Guthrie)

I went down to the fishing hole,
I carried along my fishing pole;
Somethin’ grabb’d my line, hooked my bait
And Jerked me out in the middle of the lake.
Some jump
I got sunk, baptized on the credit.

Fishin’ down on th’ muddy bank,
Felt a big pull an’ give a big yank,
I drug out two old rubber boots,
A Ford radiator an’ a Chevrolet coop
Handed it in for National Defense.

So I Jumped off a bridge and went down deep,
Found a hundred pound catfish lying there asleep,
Well I jumped on his back and rode him all aroun’
Saddled him up and turned around
Folks come runnin’, dogs barkin’, kids lookin’
They say, “What are you doing on that catfish?”
I say, “I don’t know, what are you doing talking with someone whose on one. “

So I waded out to a sandy bar,
And caught myself a big alligator gar,
Drug him in across my back,
Tail was dragging a mile and a half,
Flippin’ an’ floppin’. sold him for a quarter.
Went to the post office and bought a stamp, I licked it

Wrote a letter home:

Dear Dad.
No mon. No fun.
Your son.

He wrote back to me:

Dear Son,
So sad. Too bad.
Your Dad

Words and Music by Woody Guthrie
Copyright 1961 (renewed) by Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc.

Arranged by Larry Long