Washington Fly Fishing Forum banner

Fishing Songs

25K views 115 replies 86 participants last post by  Don Freeman 
#1 ·
I'm making a playlist of songs that have something to do with fishing, but I need some help. My rules are they have to have something to do with fishing, and they have to be halfway decent songs that you can listen to a bunch of times:

Here's what I got so far, in no particular order:

1- Woodie Guthrie and Ramblin' Jack Elliot- Talking Fishing Blues
2- Bruce Springsteen- The River (no fishing I know, but a place you could no doubt fish if you wanted to)
3- Otis Redding- Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay (as for above #2)
4- Bob Dylan- Hurricane (he mentions trout streams)
5- The Waterboys- Fisherman's Blues
6- Tom Waits- Better off without a wife
7- Fish Man Blues- Memphis minnie
8- River's Rising- Leftover Salmon
9- Three Reels- Dordan
10- Green River- Creedence Clearwater Revival
11- Ol Man River- Paul Robeson
12- The River- PJ Harvey
13- Silverfish- Belly
14- In the Pines- Leadbelly (yeah I know, It's not about fishing... it's about camping)
15- Five feet high and rising - Johnny Cash
16 King tubby meets rockers uptown- king tubby and Augustus Pablo (there's nothing about Tubby that has anything to do with fishing except it puts me in the mood)
 
See less See more
#77 ·
Anything
Earth Wind &B Fire--There elements!! Gotta be good for fishing...
James Brown- RIP
Pink Floyd
KISS
Tito Puente
Ol' Skool Hip Hop ( Gradnmaster Flash, Eric B. & Rakim, etc..)
 
#80 ·
BadFish said:
Dunno if this one was mentioned, but I like to listen to it on the way to the river:

"Crossroads" by Eric Clapton

mentions something about buying a house by the riverside...
Hell, if you like Clapton, check out The Road To Escondido by J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton. Damn fine song: "Ride the River," last cut on the album. Doesn't mention fishing, but if you like to float down a river, it captures the mood. Superb album...great collaberation by Cale and Clapton.
Clapton's vocals on "Hard to Thrill" ...:might bring you to bawling:

Gotta agree with those who like the Dead's American Beauty: My fave cut is Ripple....love the lines:

"Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow...." :cool:

Gonna have to give Greg Brown's "Going Fishing with Bill" a listen . Cool lyrics.
 
#81 ·
Flyboy@ak said:
"Madison Brown" and "Ocean of Dreams" by Ben Winship

Ocean of Dreams is awesome story of a trout from smolt, running to sea and then back to the river as a big boy.

Also the "Important part of Fishing" by Tim Bays and "Fish Ain't Biting" by Corey Harris.

All of these songs are on a CD that Ben Winship put together.
Great one! "Madison Brown" is my personal favorite, wasn't sure if anybody else even knew about it. "Ocean of Dreams" is up there too. Funny thing is, I didn't even know who sang them until now...
 
#82 ·
BadFish said:
"Wet Dream" by Kip Addotta

It was April the 41st, being a quadruple leap year
I was driving in downtown Atlantis
My Barracuda was in the shop, so I was in a rented Stingray, and it was
overheating
So I pulled into a Shell station
They said I'd blown a seal
I said, "Fix the damn thing and leave my private life out of it, okay
pal?"

While they were doing that I walked over to a place called the oyster
bar -- a real dive
But I knew the owner, he used to play for the Dolphins
I said, "Hi, Gil!!!"
You hafta yell, he's hard of herring

CHORUS:
Think I had a wet dream
Cruisin' through the Gulf Stream
Oooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Wet dream...

Gil was also down on his luck
Fact is, he was barely keeping his head below water
I gullied up to the sandbar
He poured the usual
Rusty snail, hold the grunion, shaken, not stirred
With a peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich on the side -- heavy on the
mako
I slipped him a fin -- on porpoise
I was feeling good
I even dropped a sand dollar in the box for Jerry's Squids -- for the
halibut

Well, the place was crowded
We were packed in like sardines
They were all there to listen to the big band sounds of Tommy Dorsal --
what sole
Tommy was rockin' the place with a very popular tuna -- "Salmon Chanted
Evening"
And the stage was surrounded by screaming groupers
Probably there to see the bass player

One of them was this cute little yellowtail
And she's giving ME the eye
So I figure, this is my chance for a little fun
You know -- a piece of Pisces

But she said things I just couldn't fathom
She was too deep, and seemed to be under a lot of pressure
Boy, could she drink
She drank like a... she drank A LOT...
I said, "What's your sign?"
She said, "Aquarium"
I said, "GREAT!!! Let's get tanked!"

CHORUS

I invited her up to my place for a little midnight bait
I said, "C'mon baby, it'll only take a few minnows"
She threw me that same old line
"Not tonight -- I got a haddock"

And she wasn't kiddin' either, 'cuz in came the biggest, meanest looking
haddock I'd ever seen come down the pike
He was covered with mussels
He came over to me, he said, "Listen shrimp -- don't you come trolling
around here"
What a crab
This guy was steamed -- I could see the anchor in his eyes

I turned to him, I said, "Abalone -- You're just being shellfish"
Well, I knew it was going to be trouble, and so did Gil, 'cuz he was
already on the phone to the cods
The haddock hits me with a sucker punch
I catch him with a left hook
He eels over
It was a fluke, but there he was, lying on the deck, flat as a mackerel
Kelpless

I said, "Forget the cods, Gil, this guy's gonna need a sturgeon"
Well, the yellowtail was impressed with the way I landed her boyfriend
She came over to me, she said, "Hey big boy, you're really a game fish"
"What's your name?"
I said, "Marlin"

CHORUS

Well from then on, we had a whale of a time
I took her to dinner
I took her to dance
I bought her a bouquet of flounders
And then I went home with her
And what did I get for my trouble?
A case of the clams
Awesomely funny:rofl: :thumb:
(Yeh, I know...I'm "easily amused.")
 
#84 ·
I saw this post today, when ReelCombo revived the thread. I joined the list after the original post was out. One I would suggest is
"Fishing with Bill" from the Rounder Records CD "Friend of Mine" by Greg Brown and Bill Morrissey.

I was a principal folk music DJ for the local station KBCS for over 21 years. I looked thru the posts, to see if this was already listed, but there were too many pages to check all very closely.

The Dude
 
#86 ·
I can't believe no one has mentioned The Fish Cheer by Country Joe and the Fish.

Am I the only guy around who remembers 1969? At least I remember some of it. ptyd
 
#87 ·
"All Summer Long" by Kidd Rock:
-------------------
Catching Walleye from the dock
Watching the waves roll off the rocks
She'll forever hold a spot inside my soul
We'd blister in the sun
We couldn't wait for night to come
To hit that sand and play some rock and roll
--------------------


"Christian Island" by Gordon Lightfoot ** bonus points for references to fishing AND scotch whisky
-------------------
I'm sailing down the summer day
Where the fish and seagulls play
I put my troubles all away
And when the gales comes up I'll fill my cup
With the whisky of the Highlands
She's a good old ship and she'll make the trip
From the lee of Christian Island
--------------------
---------------------

"Gone Fishing" by Chris Rea (Rea offers a great blues guitar sound with raspy vocals)
------------------
"Im gone fishing
I got me a line
Nothing I do is gonna make the difference
So Im taking the time

And you aint never gonna be happy
Anyhow, anyway
So Im gone fishing
And Im going today

Im gone fishing
Sounds crazy I know
I know nothing about fishing
But just watch me go

And when the time has come
I will look back and see
Peace on the shoreline
That could have been me

You can waste a whole lifetime
Trying to be
What you think is expected of you
But youll never be free

May as well go fishing"

--------------------
---------------------

"Druthers" by John Denver (a noted fly fisher)
------------------
"If I had my druthers I'd go fishing,
Find myself a lake and a lazy day.
If I had my druthers I'd quit wishing,
Get off the old caboose get on my way.
Give me whole lots of laughter, great big barrels of fun,
A nighttime full of romance, a daytime full of sun.
If I had my druthers I'd go flying,
Looking for the things I'd like to see.
If I had my druthers I'd be trying, trying
The only way to be what I can be.
Give me somebody to love me, make me feel like the only one,
And something that's worth doing, Lord, I feel good when it's "
 
#88 ·
Neal Young- DOWN BY THE RIVER
The theme song to - A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT!
Theme from the Andy Griffith Show -THE FISHING HOLE
Pinkard & Bowden I LOBSTER AND NEVER FLOUNDER
Tom T Hall GONE FISHIN'
Randy Travis PRAY FOR THE FISH
Ray Stevens TOO DRUNK TO FISH
Kevin Fowler BEER, BAIT AND AMMO
Craig Morton ******* YACHT CLUB
Woodie Guthrie TALKIN' FISHIN' BLUE
and of course,
Annie Lennox TAKE ME TO THE RIVER

there are more. If I think of them I'll add them later.
 
#89 ·
OK, I'll bite. Being a music lover, this thread finally pulled me out of "lurk" mode to make my first post to this group...

Bob Dylan, "Hurricane":
"...'It's my work', he'd say,And I'll do it for pay.
And when it's all over I'd just as soon go on my way;
Up into some paradise
Where the trout streams flow And the air is nice."

String Cheese Incident, "Sometimes a River":
"Sometimes a river, Sometimes a river runs high;
Sometimes a river, Sometimes a river runs dry..."

String Cheese Incident, "Up the Canyon":
"...Quiet Contemplation, a few minutes to unwind.
River's got me hypnotized and I love to smell the pines...
The river cuts a steady course,from years of heading' seaward.
I follow that canyon back upstream.
The rivers song is pure and true,it never ages.
It's as timeless as a dream...
I know what's waiting for me up around the next bend,
I'm up the canyon heading' home again!"

And, as Panhandle pointed out, Brokedown Palace by the Grateful Dead is a classic.
 
#90 ·
Another lurker emerges on this thread.....I can't believe nobody has quoted these classic lines from "Sailin' Shoes" by Little Feat:

Jedidiah, he's got a dime
Says he catch a more fish, every time
Well I've got a line, and you've got a pole
And I'll meet you at the fishin' hole



Also, Sam Bush (duet with Emmylou Harris), "The River's Gonna Run".
 
#91 ·
Marshall Tucker Band,

Bob away my Blues

I'm goin' down to the river
got a cane pole in my hand,
got my red worm
in a maxwell house, coffee can
I'm gonna sit, under a shady tree
on a river bank, where it's slow
gonna close my eyes n dream
an let the cork bob away my blues,

Substitute san juan worm for red worm, and strike indicator for cork and your politicaly correct! ;)
 
#93 ·
Nice thread, I'll stop lurking now!

Here are a few I like:

"Ask the Fish" by Leftover Salmon

"Whispering waters" by Leftover Salmon

"Tempting The Salmon To The Fly" by Cowboy Celtic?

"Follow The Heron" by Cathie Ryan

"Fishin' In The Dark" by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

and one that describes most of my fishing:

"Right Place, Wrong Time" by Dr. John
 
#95 ·
Now the sun is just starting to rise up over the tree top, and it's gonna be a beautiful day, that's plain to see. But I won't be around at all, so don't even bother to call. Cause on a day like today there's on place I gotta be.....
I'm going fishin with, Bill Dance todayyyyyyyyy
 
#101 ·
Artists they run the river with me are-

AC/DC
Nirvana
Ozzy
Billy Idol ( Where'd he come from?)
Mark Knopfler
And the late , great ,
John Cash ... Classic -

I agree with Mingo, Claypool along with being a cool dued is a big fly guy ...
Wynona's big brown beave is a screem!!! Hey Mingo, What's the tune where Less and the boys are playing under the dead oak tree, with less on the big old upright bass ?
Les does the Mingo "O" face too!!
 
#105 ·
I agree with all your choices except Nirvana. I have no room for angst on my fishing triips and their shit is too damn negative for my taste. Now Claypool.........is the man. Very underrated as a musician, seems fun to fish with and has the perfect attitude about the sport....... does a pretty damn good "O" too. .not sure about the dead tree vid either, but I hear they are re-doing Wynona's Big Brown Beaver to fit modern grooming tendencies. The new version will be called "Wynona's Bald Brazilian Beaver". They did one a couple years ago called "Wynona's Landing Strip Taco" but it sat on the shelf too long due to label politics and was defunct by the time they were going to put it out.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top