''Fisherman's Blues'' is the fourth studio album by

the Waterboys The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott (Scottish musician), Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Britain and Ireland, with Scott re ...

, released by

Ensign Records Ensign Records was a record label started in 1976 by London-born Nigel Grainge, elder brother of UMG Chairman Sir Lucian Grainge. History Nigel Grainge began his career in the record business as a sales office assistant at Phonogram UK in 1 ...

in October 1988. The album marked a change in the band's sound, with them abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of

traditional Irish music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a Music genre, genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Irela ...

, traditional Scottish music,

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

, and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

. Critics were divided on its release with some disappointed at the change of direction and others ranking it among the Waterboys' best work. The album was the Waterboys' best selling album, reaching a number 13 placing on the U.K. charts on release, and 76 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' 200.

Production history

The history behind ''Fisherman's Blues'' begins with

Steve Wickham Steve Wickham is an Irish musician. Originally from Ballyfermot, Dublin, but calling Sligo home, Wickham was a founding member of In Tua Nua (left in 1985 replaced by Aingeala de Burca) and played violin on the classic U2 song " Sunday Blo ...

's contribution to "The Pan Within" on the preceding Waterboys album '' This Is the Sea''. Wickham joined the group officially in 1985 after ''This Is the Sea'' had been released. Mike Scott, the Waterboys' leader, spent time in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

with Wickham, and moved to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1986. That year, the Waterboys performed "Fisherman's Blues" on

The Tube The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

, which was the first time the new musical direction the band was taking was demonstrated. The recording sessions for the album were lengthy and produced a great deal of music. The sessions began at Windmill Lane Studio in Dublin and lasted from January through March 1986. An additional session took place that December in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. From March to August 1987, the Waterboys were recording in Windmill Lane again. Scott moved to

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

and another year passed as the band recorded at Spiddal House, where Scott was living. The entire second side of the original record is made up of recordings from this 1988 session. The album was released that October. Scott describes the process; "We started recording our fourth album in early '86 and completed it 100 songs and 2 years later". Scott recalled of the album in a 1993 interview with ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'', "There was a lot of indecision. I got too involved in the album and I lost perspective. We had blues songs, gospel songs, country songs, rock songs and ballads. I didn't know where to take it. It could've been a gospel or country album. It could've sounded more like ''This Is the Sea'' or it could've been a traditional album. It could've been anything." More songs from the album's recording sessions were released on '' Too Close to Heaven'', or '' Fisherman's Blues, Part 2'' as it was titled in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, in 2002 by BMG and Razor and Tie Entertainment, respectively. Other songs from the sessions were unreleased for years, including one of the defining tracks of sessions, "Higher In Time", a cover of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight", "The Man With the Wind at His Heels", "Stranger to Me", "Saints and Angels", and "Born to Be Together". A remastered "Collector's Edition" with additional tracks was released in May 2006. A 7-CD box set, ''Fisherman's Box: The Complete Fisherman's Blues Sessions (1986-1988)'', containing 121 tracks from the album sessions including all those on the original record and subsequent editions, plus a further 85 unreleased tracks was released on 14 October 2013.

Songs

The title track peaked at number three on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. The single for the song reached position 32 on the UK singles charts in 1989 and position 75, when re-issued in 1991.

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

song "The Lost Highway", featuring

Liam Ó Maonlaí Liam Ó Maonlaí (born 7 November 1964 in Monkstown, County Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician best known as a member of Hothouse Flowers. Ó Maonlaí formed the band in 1985 with his schoolmate Fiachna Ó Braonáin. Biography He attended ...

on piano, appeared on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. "Fisherman's Blues" was used on the pilot episode of the TV series '' Lights Out'', and has appeared on the soundtracks of the movies ''

Good Will Hunting ''Good Will Hunting'' is a 1997 American drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver. The film tells the story of janitor Will Hunt ...

'', '' Waking Ned Devine'' and '' Dream with the Fishes''. Actress

Emilia Clarke Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke (born 23 October 1986) is an English actress, best known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she received nominations for four Primetime E ...

performed a cover version for the film '' Dom Hemingway''. " Sweet Thing" is a "surprisingly successful" cover of a song by

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

, originally from Morrison's 1968 album, ''

Astral Weeks ''Astral Weeks'' is the second studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was recorded at Century Sound Studios in New York during September and October 1968, and released in November of the same year by Warner Bros. Re ...

''. The Waterboys' version on this album is a

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

; the song ends with the unplanned addition of verses from

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' " Blackbird", which Scott impulsively sang on the spot. A different recording of the song appeared on the second compact disc of the re-release of ''This Is the Sea''. "Strange Boat" lends its title to Ian Abrahams' biography of Mike Scott and the Waterboys,Abrahams, Ian. ''Strange Boat''. SAF Publishing (2007) while the song "

World Party World Party was a musical group, predominantly the solo project of its sole consistent member, the songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger.

" was the inspiration for

Karl Wallinger Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger (19 October 1957 – 10 March 2024) was a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He was best known for leading the band World Party and for his mid-1980s membership of the Waterboys (contributing in parti ...

's band name. It reached position 19 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart, and was voted number 69 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Countdown of 1989. Jimmy Hickey, of the instrumental song "Jimmy Hickey's Waltz", was a member of the album's production crew. The track begins with a recording of some conversation and laughter, which continues in the background as a

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

begins to play a short

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

. The recording ends with some applause. " And a Bang on the Ear", in which Scott summarises a past romantic attachment in each verse, finishing the song with a current "woman of the hearthfire", was released as the second single from the album. A live version of " The Raggle Taggle Gypsy" made up the B-side. A studio version of "The Raggle Taggle Gypsy" would appear on the Waterboys' next album '' Room to Roam''. The single was chosen as a Radio One "Single of the Week", but failed to chart. Confusion amongst listeners about what a bang on the ear might be about prompted the Waterboys'

Frequently Asked Questions A frequently asked questions (FAQ) list is often used in articles, websites, email lists, and online forums where common questions tend to recur, for example through posts or queries by new users related to common knowledge gaps. The purpose of a ...

page to note, more than ten years later, that it was "a term of affection". A "bang" means a

kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

and this Irish phrase of "bang on the ear" can best be considered equivalent to the more common phrase "peck on the cheek". "Has Anybody Here Seen Hank" is a country music tribute to

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

, listening to whom Scott described as "a life-changing experience". The Waterboys had previously paid tribute to a different influence on Scott,

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

, with the song " A Girl Called Johnny" on their first album, ''

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott (Scottish musician), Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Britain and Ireland, with Scott re ...

''. "Dunford's Fancy" was written by Wickham for Steve Dunford, brother to Waterboys producer John Dunford. "

The Stolen Child "The Stolen Child" is an 1889 poem by William Butler Yeats, published in ''The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems''. Overview The poem was written in 1886 and is considered to be one of Yeats's more notable early poems. The poem is based on I ...

" was the first

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...

poem that the Waterboys put to music. Another Yeats poem "Love and Death" appeared on '' Dream Harder'' in 1993. "The Stolen Child", spoken by traditional Irish vocalist Tomás Mac Eoin with backup vocals by Scott, remains the group's "most famous poetic rendition". The final song is only a brief snippet of the

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

folk song "

This Land Is Your Land "This Land Is Your Land" is a song by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. One of the United States' most famous folk songs, its lyrics were written in 1940 in critical response to Irving Berlin's " God Bless America". Its melody is based on a ...

" with some of the American place names replaced with Irish ones.

Critical reception

''Fisherman's Blues'' was included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music criti ...

''.

Track listing

Fisherman's Blues (1988)

# " Fisherman's Blues" ( Mike Scott, Steve Wickham) – 4:26 # "We Will Not Be Lovers" (Scott) – 7:03 # "Strange Boat" (Scott, Anthony Thistlethwaite) – 3:06 # "

World Party World Party was a musical group, predominantly the solo project of its sole consistent member, the songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger.

" (Scott, Trevor Hutchinson,

) – 4:01 # " Sweet Thing" (

) – 7:14 # "Jimmy Hickey's Waltz" (Scott, Wickham, Thistlethwaite) – 2:06 # " And a Bang on the Ear" (Scott, Wickham, Thistlethwaite) – 9:14 # "Has Anybody Here Seen Hank?" (Scott) – 3:19 # "When Will We Be Married?" (Traditional, adapted: Scott, Thistlethwaite) – 3:01 # "When Ye Go Away" (Scott) – 3:45 # "Dunford's Fancy" (Wickham) – 1:04 # "

" (Words: W.B. Yeats, Music: Scott) – 6:55 # "

" (

) – 0:56 ''Jimmy Hickey's Waltz'' is not present on 1988

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

release. Though it is not listed at the back of the 1988 CD box, it features on the Ensign disc and in the booklet with full credits..

Personnel

The cover displays some of the contributors. From left to right, back to front, are: Jake Kennedy (crew), Colin Blakey, Pat McCarthy (recording engineer), Jimmy Hickey (crew), John Dunford (co-producer), Trevor Hutchinson, Fran Breen, Anthony Thistlethwaite, Mike Scott, and

. * Mike Scott —

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

* Anthony Thistlethwaite —

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

, Hammond organ *

—

* Trevor Hutchinson —

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

Roddy Lorimer Roddy Lorimer (born 19 May 1953) is a Scottish musician who plays trumpet and flugelhorn. He has performed with Blur, Gene, the Rolling Stones, Draco Rosa, the Who, the Style Council, Eric Clapton, Suede, Supergrass, Beyoncé, Jamiroquai, D ...

—

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

Kevin Wilkinson Kevin Michael Wilkinson (11 June 1958 – 17 July 1999) was an English drummer, who was based in Baydon, Wiltshire, England. Career Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Wilkinson is credited as a former official member of several successful ...

— drums * Peter McKinney — drums * Dave Ruffy — drums * Colin Blakey — piano,

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, border horn * Fran Breen — drums * Vinnie Kilduff — guitar * Noel Bridgeman —

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s *

Jay Dee Daugherty Jay Dee Daugherty (born March 22, 1952) is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Biography Moving to Ne ...

— drums *

Máirtín O'Connor Máirtín O'Connor is an Irish button accordionist from Galway, Ireland, who began playing at the age of nine, and whose career has seen him as a member of many traditional music groups that include Skylark, Midnight Well, De Dannan, an ...

—

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

* Alec Finn — bouzouki * Charlie Lennon — violin * Brendan O'Regan — bouzouki * Tomás Mac Eoin — vocals * Paraig Stevens — bells * Jenny Haan — vocals * Ruth Nolan — vocals * Rachel Nolan — vocals * The Abergavenny Male Voice Choir — vocals * Tomás Mac Eoin — spoken voice

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

''Fisherman's Blues''
(

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(streamed copy where licensed)
''Fisherman's Blues'' (2006 Digital Remaster)
(

) at

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(streamed copy where licensed)
Lyrics at mikescottwaterboys.com
{{Use British English, date=January 2025 1988 albums The Waterboys albums Albums produced by Bob Johnston Chrysalis Records albums