My Waterway World by Ian H Bruce (2009) Recorded by Ian H Bruce My waterway world is a wonderful place Where everyone greets me with smiles on their face Always tee-shirt and shorts, never jacket and tie As that wearisome working world passes me by Chorus: I'm going boating, to slow down, unwind I'm a dreamboat navigator, leaving all cares behind In my waterway world the sun always shines On a Kodachrome landscape that's frozen in time No rain ever falls from a bright azure sky Though crystal clear water levels always are high In my waterway world every boater’s my mate There're no dead-lines to meet so I’m never late Nothing breaks down, so there’s nothing to mend And there’s always a real ale pub round the next bend In my waterway world the prop's always free 'Cos the cut contains none of our urban debris Ropes never tangle, there’s no waiting at locks It’s a lifestyle not governed by wristwatch or clocks My waterway world provides a narrow escape From a life of brown envelopes, rules and red tape Navigating a system at mere walking speed Avoiding commercial aggression and greed But my waterway world is a foolish ideal A Utopian fantasy, it just isn’t real I’ll not list the problems, that's a ten verse encore So I’ll just close my eyes and dream a bit more Notes from the song writer : This was inspired by John Connolly's 'Fiddlers Green' which describes a fishing boat crew's idea of Utopia. In this canal song I just had to balance the 'dream' with the reality. After writing several verses about moody boaters, miserable fishermen, invisible waterway workers, broken lock gates, British Waterways, etc. I felt that the song was becoming rather depressing and so settled for the last verse. It would be very nice if the canals could be an escape from the realities of life, but life on a canal is just like anywhere else. Indeed, just recently, I came to the conclusion that it contains more than its fair share of unsociable individuals and 'miserable old gits'. This is therefore a song of hope for next year's boating season. Ian H Bruce Recorded on :
My Waterway World by Ian H Bruce (2009) Recorded by Ian H Bruce My waterway world is a wonderful place Where everyone greets me with smiles on their face Always tee-shirt and shorts, never jacket and tie As that wearisome working world passes me by Chorus: I'm going boating, to slow down, unwind I'm a dreamboat navigator, leaving all cares behind In my waterway world the sun always shines On a Kodachrome landscape that's frozen in time No rain ever falls from a bright azure sky Though crystal clear water levels always are high In my waterway world every boater’s my mate There're no dead-lines to meet so I’m never late Nothing breaks down, so there’s nothing to mend And there’s always a real ale pub round the next bend In my waterway world the prop's always free 'Cos the cut contains none of our urban debris Ropes never tangle, there’s no waiting at locks It’s a lifestyle not governed by wristwatch or clocks My waterway world provides a narrow escape From a life of brown envelopes, rules and red tape Navigating a system at mere walking speed Avoiding commercial aggression and greed But my waterway world is a foolish ideal A Utopian fantasy, it just isn’t real I’ll not list the problems, that's a ten verse encore So I’ll just close my eyes and dream a bit more Notes from the song writer : This was inspired by John Connolly's 'Fiddlers Green' which describes a fishing boat crew's idea of Utopia. In this canal song I just had to balance the 'dream' with the reality. After writing several verses about moody boaters, miserable fishermen, invisible waterway workers, broken lock gates, British Waterways, etc. I felt that the song was becoming rather depressing and so settled for the last verse. It would be very nice if the canals could be an escape from the realities of life, but life on a canal is just like anywhere else. Indeed, just recently, I came to the conclusion that it contains more than its fair share of unsociable individuals and 'miserable old gits'. This is therefore a song of hope for next year's boating season. Ian H Bruce Recorded on :