Wally Page and Tony Boylan
Sixteen Fishermen raving out on the town on E
Sixteen peacocks leave their nest and go flying into mystery
They try to cut the Spanish look but they look so untidy
Don’t ask too much, you’ll never get enough when you’re flying into mystery
Flying into mystery when they should be out seafaring
Run out the jib and rig the boom, step back reality
When their ship is on the ocean their nights are so empty
They weary of the smelly fish and the wash of the salty sea
Sixteen jolly ravers each one carrying his own caul
They believe it will keep death away when they face the angry squall
Why face the angry squall when you could go Go-Go dancing
Run out the jib and rig the boom, step back reality
Yabba Dabba Da, Yabba Dabba Da, yat tie a rat tie a rat tie a rada
Yabba Dabba Da, Yabba Dabba Da, yat tie a rat tie a rat
To the Sixteen Fishermen raving O the girls look so fancy
You could ate your fry off the back of her neck if you want some more say please
When fishermen are feeling good they feel it musically
They go down singing shanties to the dance floor all at sea
To the dance floor all at sea go the Sixteen Fishermen raving
Run out the jib and rig the boom, step back reality
Flying into mystery when they should be out seafaring
Run out the jib and rig the boom, step back reality
Previously recorded as “Sixteen Fishermen Raving” back in 2005, I first heard Wally sing this in The Cobblestone, Dublin in 1999. I played it in last year’s lockdown sessions and again at a streamed gig from Vicar St. Dublin. Since then the song has gained greater popularity and newfound interest. A different version 16 years later. My hairy ears seem to detect variations in the timbre of this ancient voice box. Perhaps this 76 year old instrument gains fresh intonation from the experience and the trauma of recent events. (Pseud’s Corner here we come). I still carry my own caul. Safely tucked in my breast pocket alongside a double-michelle-pfizervaccination-passport.