"Talkin' Fishin'" lyrics - RAMBLIN' JACK ELLIOTT

I went down to the fishing hole
Carried along my fishing pole
Somethin' grabbed my hook and it got my bait
And jerked me out in the middle of the lake
Some jump, I got sunk, baptized on credit

Fishin' down on the muddy bank
Felt a pull and give a big yank
I drug out three old rubber boots
A Ford radiator and a Chevrolet coop
Handed them in for National Defense

When you go fishing, tell you what to do
Go set down by the grassy dew
Take a piece of string, tie it on your pole
Throw it way out in the middle of the hole
Then just find a good shady tree and just sit down
Go to sleep, forget all about it

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 lady right by my side
Takin' it easy, worm been gone off that hook for couple of hours

Stagnant waters is a stinking thing
Slick on top and all turn green
The water goes bad, the fish all run
You can sat all day and not catch you a one
Except the mud water fish, yard fish
Few of the little suckers

Jumped in the river and went down deep
There was a hundred pound cat-fish lying there, asleep
I jumped on his back and rode him in to town
Saddled him up and then I turned around
Folks come a-runnin', dogs barkin', kids lookin'

I waited 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', sold him for a quarter
Got drunk, shot craps, got in jail

Early one mornin' I took me a notion
To go out fishin' in the middle of the ocean
And caught myself a great big shark
I didn't get him home till way past dark
He was 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 stream run dry
So I give the fish back to the finance company