Greg Brown has a few--in fact I suspect the aforementioned 5 # bass may be his song. Where 2 boys go down Main Street in their P. F. Flyers carrying 2 5-pound bass making grown men liars (because they had said there were not any fish in "there")


IF I HAD KNOWN

A little creek you could spit across
Jimmy and me each took one more toss
Our spinners bright in the evening air
People always said, there ain't no fish in there
Well grownups they ain't always right
Jimmy and me walked home slow that night
Right down Main Street in our P. F. Fliers
With two 5-lb. bass making grown men liars

Jimmy, if I had known--
I might have stopped fishing right then
It's just as well we don't know
When things will never be that good again

A hayride on an autumn night
Well we was 15 if I remember right
We were far apart at the start of the ride
But somehow we ended up side by side
We hit a bump and she grabbed my arm
The night was as cold as her lips were warm
I shivered as her hand held mine
And then I kissed her one more time

And Jane, if I had known--
I might have stopped kissing right then
It's just as well we don't know
When things will never be that good again

She was older than me I guess
Summer was invented for her to wear that dress
I knew about risk and she knew about proof
And that night she took me up on the roof
We could see the lights of the little towns
We could watch the August stars come down
Shooting stars, meteorites--
We went on a ride through the sky that night

And, oh, if I had known--
I'd do it all over again
Some things just get better and better
And better than they've already been


LAUGHING RIVER

I'm goin' away,
'Cause I gotta busted heart.
I'm leavin' today,
If my Travelall will start.
And I reckon where I’m headed,
I might need me different clothes--
Way up in Michigan,
Where the Laughing River flows.

Twenty years in the minor leagues--
Ain't no place I didn't go.
Well I gotta few hits,
But I never made the show.
And I could hang on for a few years,
Doin' what I’ve done before.
I wanna hear the Laughing River,
Flowin' right outside my door.

My cousin Ray,
Said he's got a job for me.
Where the houses are cheap,
And he knows this nice lady.
He said she even saw me play once,
Said she smiled at my name.
Well upon the Laughing River,
Could be a whole new game.

So goodbye to the bus.
Good bye to payin' dues.
Goodbye to the cheers,
And goodbye to the booze.
Well I’m trading in this old bat,
For a fishing pole.
I'm gonna let the Laughing River,
Flow right into my soul.

[Repeat first verse]


FISHING WITH BILL

Man what a winter,
Sorrow wide and deep.
Is it just the media industry or the whole country
That is turning into sheep?
I wanna go to a good place
With a friend of mine,
Cast our souls out in the river
And watch the whole deal shine.
Some little crick in Massachusetts, just over the hill,
Oh I, I’m goin' fishin' with Bill.

Well, Bill, I bet he is a good fly caster.
He grew up on these eastern brooks.
Me, I grew up on the Midwestern cricks
Casting crappie flies for chubs and such.
But in my young imagination,
I watched a number 20 coachman settle down,
Sitting by the stove in that little library
Reading Roderick L. Haig Brown.
I never did fish in Vancouver. I probably never will.
I don't care. I'm goin' fishin' with Bill.

Well, it's a long and noble tradition,
Catching trout on the fly.
When you're done, with the setting of the sun,
Gonna drink a little bourbon if you're dry.
See some folks out on the river,
Cool, scientific and clean.
They look like everything just kinda stuck to them
The last time they walked through ol' L. L. Bean.
My friend, Dave, says the good fishermen are the ones who have fun and we will.
Oh I, I’m goin' fishin' with Bill.

Sittin' in a bar in Brattleboro
Thinkin' about one of his songs.
The rain was pourin' down, and I was pourin' it down,
And all I could do was hum along.
We've talked about goin' fishin' so often
At some party when the gig was done.
Well, life slips by like a little dry fly
Sliding down a deep slick run,
So let us stand steady like an old mill.
Oh I, I’m goin' fishin' with Bill.

Maybe handsome Molly will pass by
As we cast away the hours.
Somewhere on a river somewhere far away
From stupid people in positions of power.
Someday when we ain't folk singers
Flyin' through the friendly skies.
We won't be waiting for the big break
Or anything except the evening rise
On some spring crick in Wisconsin or maybe the Batten Kill.
Oh I, I’m goin' fishin' with Bill.
I'm goin' fishin' with Bill ... um, um, um,
I'm goin' fishin' with Bill ... yes, I am,
I'm goin' fishin' with Bill.

G: Y'know, Bill?
B: Wha? Wha?
G: I think if we just tried a little, some kinda little streamer right over there; go ahead and cast over ...
B: What d'ya got - a blasting cap?
G: See that clump of grass over there ...
B: A number 12 blasting cap ...
G: ... on the other side over there?
B: Yeah, yeah I see that.
G: I have a feelin' there's about a 5 1/2 pound rainbow under one of them ...
B: Ah, 6 ...
G: ... just waitin' for someone to come along ... and catch ...
B: I’ll catch the fish.
G: We need to catch just one trout here, Bill ... just one ...
B: What? Ya hungry?
G: ... 'Cause I’m hungry, I don't know about you ...
B: Well, I’ll catch the fish.
G: I know we're both catch and release guys. I know we believe in that, but if we caught just one trout, we could eat it, couldn't we, so we could sustain ourselves and the beautiful spirit of the trout would become part of us ... and I’m hungry.
B: Ah, ah ...
G: Well, I’m not complainin' 'bout gettin' lost today.
B: We, we weren't lost, Greg, ah ...
G: We've seen a lot of parts of Massachusetts I’ve never seen before; it's not that, it's ...
B: ... the map was broken.
G: ... it's late and we need to catch one trout and put ...
B: ... ok, ok, alright, I’ll ...
G: ... it on the grill if it's ok.
B: alright.

Goin' fishin' with Bill.
Goin' fishin' with Bill.
Goin' fishin' with Bill.

He also has one about fishin' with Bill, and another that mentions "to clean our dirty rivers, now that's a noble wish, I’m putting my shoulder to the wheel cuz I want to catch a fish."


SPRING WIND

I lived awhile without you,
Darn near half my life.
I no longer see our unborn children,
Born to you my unwed wife.
But yesterday I had a vision,
Beneath the tree where we once talked,
Of an old couple burning
Their love letters so their children
Won't be shocked.

[Chorus:]
Love calls like the wild birds--
It's another day.
A spring wind blew my list of
Things to do ... away.

My friends are gettin' older,
So I guess I must be too.
Without their loving kindness,
I don't know what I’d do.
Oh the wine bottle's half empty--
The money's all spent.
And we're a cross between our parents
And hippies in a tent.

[Repeat chorus]

In a mucked up lovely river,
I cast my little fly.
I look at that river and smell it
And it makes me wanna cry.
Oh to clean our dirty planet,
Now there's a noble wish,
And I’m puttin' my shoulder to the wheel
'Cause I wanna catch some fish.

[Repeat chorus]

Children go to sleep now--
You know it's gettin' late.
I know you don't like to miss nothin'
And school ain't that great.
Oh, I’ll dance with you when you're happy,
And hold you when you're sad,
And hope you know how glad I am,
Just to be your dad.

[Repeat chorus]

Darlin' it's been a hard go
But I think we'll be okay.
I know I say that all the time
Like everything else I say.
Oh, I’ve been gone so often,
But every time I miss you,
And I don't really know nothin',
Except I like to kiss you.

[Repeat chorus]


See www.gregbrown.org