As I walked by the dockside, one evening so rare,
To view the still waters and taste the salt air,
I heard an old fisherman singing this song:
“Won’t you take me away, boys, me time is not long.
Dress me up in me oilskins and blankets.
No more on the docks I’ll be seen.
And tell me old shipmates I’m taking a trip, mates,
And I’ll see you someday in fiddler’s green.”
Now, fiddler’s green is a place, I’ve heard tell,
Where fishermen go if they don’t go to hell.
The weather is fair and the dolphins do play
And the cold coast of Greenland is far, far away.
Dress me up in me oilskins and blankets.
No more on the docks I’ll be seen.
And tell me old shipmates I’m taking a trip, mates,
And I’ll see you someday in fiddler’s green.”
Now, I don’t want a harp or a halo, not me,
Just give me a breeze and a good roaring sea,
And I’ll play me old squeeze box as we sail along,
With the wind and the rigging just singing a song.
Dress me up in me oilskins and blankets.
No more on the docks I’ll be seen.
And tell me old shipmates I’m taking a trip, mates,
And I’ll see you someday in fiddler’s green.”
1966 – John Conolly – Performed by Jon Gailmor – Album: Passing Through