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A Fisherman's Life

from This Perfect Day by Bill Gable

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    Signed copy of the "This Perfect Day" CD by Bill Gable, which includes an attached 8-page booklet with song lyrics and images.

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    "This Perfect Day" CD by Bill Gable, which includes an attached 8-page booklet with song lyrics and images.

    Includes unlimited streaming of This Perfect Day via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD or more 

     

about

During the 1970s I devoured a huge amount of music from Brazil. One of my favorite songs was “The Sea Is My Soil,” which I believe I first heard on a Tamba Trio album. The song was written by the legendary Dorival Caymmi. His daughter Nana still remains my favorite female Brazilian singer. And it is to his son, Dory, that I owe a huge debt of thanks in telling me I should sometime read Fernando Pessoa, whose writing has had a huge effect on me.

When I moved to Los Angeles in 1980 I soon became dear friends with the guitarist John Pisano. We put a band together for a while and we shared a love for and knowledge of Brazilian music. When I played this track for John his response was unlike that of anyone else before or since. He cracked a smile and said “you’re parodying Dorival.” Though my lyrics were skewed and not something Dorival would ever write, he got the joke.

lyrics

when the world is sleeping
I’m already up and leaving
throwing my net out over the sea
a fisherman’s life for me

when I get back every evening
first there comes the cleaning
and on every one I do my very best
a fisherman’s life for me

for me, for me
as happy as a man can be
for me, for me
a fisherman’s life for me

the only ones worth keeping
are speckled and fight with feeling
take these home and throw away the rest
a fisherman’s life for me

I may not be a man of breeding
but I know that I like my eating
and I like to eat what I like to eat best

a fisherman’s life for me
for me, for me
as happy as a man can be
for me, for me
a fisherman’s life for me

no matter what kind of weather
the very best in the school run deep
so cover your hook with plenty of meat
a fisherman’s life for me

for me, for me
as happy as a man can be
for me, for me
a fisherman’s life for me

credits

from This Perfect Day, released December 8, 2003
(arr. by Stephen Barber; conducted by Bill Ginn)

Bill Gable: guitar, cavaquinho, synths, accordion and vocals
Steve Rodby: acoustic bass
Tom Brechtlein: drums
Joel Derouin: violin
Suzie Katayama: cello
Judd Miller: EVI (bass clarinet)
Joe Meyer: french horn
Jim Self: euphonium
Jim Lang: synths

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about

Bill Gable Los Angeles, California

BILL GABLE is an uncompromisingly original American singer-songwriter, producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist whose music spans the boundaries between pop, jazz and world music.

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