Late 1940's. Just after the war. We lived in an inland timber town and occasionally headed to the coast for the weekend with relatives. Borrowed Grandpa Tommy's line-fish boat, dragged for mussels, burleyed for snapper. This is how I remember one trip.
Hope you enjoy a glimpse of my childhood. Any comments welcome.
The Bush And The Boat
We escape from the pine trees and coast down the Kaimais Scull to the workboat and let her slip free Follow old estuary curves to safe harbour Mince up some mussels make the fish feed The cockpit fills quickly with fat golden snapper I'm sunburnt and satisfied my hands are on fire
The bush and the boat give us wild pork and seafood The bush and the boat let us live like kings I like what I do and I do what I like Whinging and whining just won't fix a thing That whining just won't fix a thing
We head back at sunset to Tommy's calm mooring Sell to Nug's fish shop and buy crates of beer A blaze on the sandspit with smoked fish and mussels Out comes the squeezebox and loads of good cheer As hoarse as the night we crash in our castles Then work in the bush in the morning
The bush and the boat give us wild pork and seafood The bush and the boat let us live like kings I like what I do and I do what I like Whinging and whining just won't fix a thing That whining just won't fix a thing
The lifestyle was different in the old days One people one country one flag One set of values, one law for all We were proud to call this land our home
The bush and the boat give us wild pork and seafood The bush and the boat let us live like kings I like what I do and I do what I like Whinging and whining just won't fix a thing That whining just won't fix a thing Whining just won't fix a thing
Nice song, to my ear the buzz bass does not fit the style. I think a standard finger bass would fit better; Could be just me. Still an excellent piece of music. Thanks for sharing!
Super lyric on this. A great "glimpse" of the past.
I found the bass very distracting - and had to turn the track down considerably listening in phones. (personal choice.. I would like to hear this with an acoustic bass) - but I love that you are experimenting...
And...
I want to know what is meant by "...burleyed for snapper" We fish for Red Snapper in the Gulf (of Mexico) out 25-45 MILES in 120 feet of water....
I want to know what is meant by "...burleyed for snapper" We fish for Red Snapper in the Gulf (of Mexico) out 25-45 MILES in 120 feet of water....
floyd
Hi Floyd "Burley" is a anything enticing that fish will eat, generally tossed from the boat to attract fish to the area. Not sure if it's perhaps more an Australian / New Zealand term or not.
Burley often consists of what's left over after cleaning a fish, tossed back into the water.
(And, seasick people often just make their own berley, whether they like it or not!) Hope this helps
Cheers Trevor
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I love these songs that offer a glimpse into, for me, another world of childhood experiences. Very well done. I'm biased being an old upright bass picker but I can hear one in your song. There are some outstanding acoustic bass RT's. Enjoyed it!
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
Hi Floyd "Burley" is a anything enticing that fish will eat generally tossed from the boat to attract fish to the area. Not sure if it's perhaps more an Australian / New Zealand term or not.
Burley often consists of what's left over after cleaning a fish, tossed back into the water.
(And, seasick people often just make their own berley, whether they like it or not!) Hope this helps
Cheers Trevor
Trevor - thanks for the explanation! We call that "chum"...
Have taken Robert and Floyd's advice and replaced the bass. (Goodbye buzz bass I may use you later in 'Ratbag Rap') Also dropped one drum track. And the bottleblow.
Yeah Floyd Australasian term 'Burley'. I see the term chumming is American English from Powhatan. Looked up the red snapper. Discovered there are many species of snapper. Bet they all taste good. Thanks for your comments.
Thanks for your answer Trevor. Enjoyed the video!
We would drag for mussels from the extensive beds in the harbour where the snapper fed, smash some up to get the fish feeding off the bottom then Dad and I would work stray lines (flat out) from each side of the cockpit until we had all we wanted. Lucky to get a feed these days.
Thanks for the encouraging comments and the listen Janice and Bud. Cheers.
Hi Rich Have to play this one to my better half. He loves fishing! Me, I dont eat seafood at all but I do like the song and as said before, I enjoyed the peak into your childhood. Great job.
Thanks Dani - as i get older I seem to remember more and more detail from the past. Most of it better forgotten. hmmmm. But there is much that's enjoyable.
Thanks Olemon - My collection of poems would be a bit of a shocker! Thanks for mentioning the video. Didn't notice the ending. Will put a few more seconds on the last frame.
Thanks much Josie. Looks like you are into cruising yachts. I want to do a song about that one day.
I really, really like this song! You vocals combined with the backing track is great with such unique lyrics. A great combination and really well done.
Richard, thanks for the look into your past. The fishing here in Florida is not like it was 30 yrs ago. I enjoyed taking the journey of your song. If it's about fishing I'm all in. Tom
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