Great Scottish band The Waterboys are set to release their 16th album on April 4. Including such stellar guests as Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle and Fiona Apple. ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ is said to be “the epic story of the trailblazing American actor and rebel told through a song cycle depicting not only Hopper’s story but the saga of the last 75 years of western pop culture.” Hmm.

So, while we’ll reserve judgement on that one, it’s no reason not to remember the Mike Scott-led outfit in its mid 1980s heyday, not least the Celtic-influenced “Fisherman’s Blues,” released in 1988.

This performance of the song of the same name comes from a festival in 2007 and notably features the epic violin playing of Steve Wickham, who (no pun intended) was instrumental in fashioning the band’s signature sound.

Lyrics

I wish I was a fisherman
Tumblin’ on the seas
Far away from dry land
And its bitter memories
Casting out my sweet line
With abandonment and love
No ceiling bearin’ down on me
Save the starry sky above
With light in my head
You in my arms
Woo!

I wish I was the brakeman
On a hurtlin’ fevered train
Crashing a-headlong into the heartland
Like a cannon in the rain
With the beating of the sleepers
And the burnin’ of the coal
Counting the towns flashing by
In a night that’s full of soul
With light in my head
You in my arms
Woo!

Tomorrow I will be loosened
From bonds that hold me fast
That the chains all hung around me
Will fall away at last
And on that fine and fateful day
I will take thee in my hands
I will ride on the train
I will be the fisherman
With light in my head
You in my arms

Light in my head
You in my arms

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