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Leo Kottke — The Fisherman
Album: 6- And 12-String Guitar
Avg rating:
7.8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 943









Released: 1969
Length: 2:27
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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I heard your voice at midnight
By the river shore
I saw your child sleeping
Behind an open door
The moon was in the river
Shining up from the floor
And the fish swam like moonlight
Through your child's closing door
And morning is the long way home

The fisherman was drowning
By his broken heel
His screams were tiny bubbles
And his tongue made of steel
When he died his teeth made stones
For your lonely child to feel
And his eyes like prayers were quiet
When you heard his tongues of steel
And morning is the long way home

The ghost of ghosts was passing
And the grasses waved like hair
I Knew I'd die forgotten
I'm the whisper of your care
The water would surround me
And my body would despair
But my heart would understand
The door that's closing there
And morning is the long way home
Comments (60)add comment
 Steve_M wrote:

I saw Leo Kottke at a free show in a chapel at Colgate University in 1973 on a spring afternoon. Sitting near the front I was blown away and have taken my son, who is a guitar player, to see him play twice. Enormous talent and wit    Thanks Steve NY



He's a treat to see in concert!
Posted 2 years ago by smommits    [ Reply ]
 TerryS wrote:

First LK  LP I bought of his music way before he developed tendonitis by speed playing.
His technique had to change thereafter, obviously, and I like both styles.
What I cannot abide, is his singing, of which  he famously said "sounds like geese farts on a muggy day". 

He was quoting John Fahey
Posted 2 years ago by Greyerwrit    [ Reply ]
Ahhhhhh . . .       
Posted 3 years ago by On_The_Beach    [ Reply ]
 buddy wrote:

Given your personal sensibilities I hesitate to bother commenting, but here goes.....

I'm curious what kind of guitar playing means absolutely something to you?  Eddie Van Halen?  Mick Mars?  At least maybe Jimmy Page?

As for fishing....I'm guessing you've never stood thigh-deep in a rushing Rocky Mountain river with eagles circling overhead as you run down a 13" Rainbow Trout on your fly line.  It might make sense to you then.

Broaden your horizons, lad... {#Wink}
 Mick Mars is the real Deal.

Posted 4 years ago by TerryS    [ Reply ]
 Grammarcop wrote:
I got a bad case of tendonitis from typing all day. No one ever praised me for the sound of my keyboard or my typing style. 
 
You need a Cherry-MX keyboard.  It will help your health and style.
Posted 4 years ago by sqqqrly    [ Reply ]
 buddy wrote:

Given your personal sensibilities I hesitate to bother commenting, but here goes.....

I'm curious what kind of guitar playing means absolutely something to you?  Eddie Van Halen?  Mick Mars?  At least maybe Jimmy Page?

As for fishing....I'm guessing you've never stood thigh-deep in a rushing Rocky Mountain river with eagles circling overhead as you run down a 13" Rainbow Trout on your fly line.  It might make sense to you then.

Broaden your horizons, lad... {#Wink}
 
... the one and only time you will EVER read "Mick Mars" in the same phrasing as EVH and Jimmy Page!
Mick loved that.
Posted 5 years ago by stretcher    [ Reply ]
Test comment with offline simulation - build 7.0.1-747
Posted 5 years ago by theirongiant    [ Reply ]
 Grammarcop wrote:
I got a bad case of tendonitis from typing all day. No one ever praised me for the sound of my keyboard or my typing style. 

 
Maybe you just couldn't hear them praise you because you strike the keys so loudly.
{#Propeller}
Posted 6 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
Every song on this album is a gem, but "Crow River Waltz" is one of my favorite pieces of music. Just beautiful.
Posted 6 years ago by nagsheadlocal    [ Reply ]
Thank gawd for tendonitis ~
Posted 6 years ago by sfyi2001    [ Reply ]
I got a bad case of tendonitis from typing all day. No one ever praised me for the sound of my keyboard or my typing style. 
Posted 7 years ago by Grammarcop    [ Reply ]
 buddy wrote:

Given your personal sensibilities I hesitate to bother commenting, but here goes.....

I'm curious what kind of guitar playing means absolutely something to you?  Eddie Van Halen?  Mick Mars?  At least maybe Jimmy Page?

As for fishing....I'm guessing you've never stood thigh-deep in a rushing Rocky Mountain river with eagles circling overhead as you run down a 13" Rainbow Trout on your fly line.  It might make sense to you then.

Broaden your horizons, lad... {#Wink}

 
 

                                That trout is  - Y U G E


. 
Posted 7 years ago by sfyi2001    [ Reply ]
 Stingray wrote:

I understand what you mean, but this kind of guitar
playing means ABSOLUTELYnothing to me!

 

Kottke, Byrne, Cohen and Enaudi in one band,

would be additional reason for war.

 

PS
Fishing is a dumb and very slow process,

why he is running his guitar like a speed-freak then...?

Makes that sense?



 
Given your personal sensibilities I hesitate to bother commenting, but here goes.....

I'm curious what kind of guitar playing means absolutely something to you?  Eddie Van Halen?  Mick Mars?  At least maybe Jimmy Page?

As for fishing....I'm guessing you've never stood thigh-deep in a rushing Rocky Mountain river with eagles circling overhead as you run down a 13" Rainbow Trout on your fly line.  It might make sense to you then.

Broaden your horizons, lad... {#Wink}
Posted 7 years ago by buddy    [ Reply ]
 ch83575 wrote:

This may be true, but the song is called The Fisherman, not just Fishing.  I know a lot of fisherman that are speed-freaks, so I think it works just fine.

 
First LK  LP I bought of his music way before he developed tendonitis by speed playing.
His technique had to change thereafter, obviously, and I like both styles.
What I cannot abide, is his singing, of which  he famously said "sounds like geese farts on a muggy day". 
Posted 7 years ago by TerryS    [ Reply ]
Equally as good as his guitar playing is his personality. Super great guy. 
Posted 8 years ago by Schmoogsley    [ Reply ]
How is this not worshipped more? Oliver Stone needs to make a movie about it.
Posted 10 years ago by 2020sk    [ Reply ]
 Stingray wrote:

PS
Fishing is a dumb and very slow process,

why he is running his guitar like a speed-freak then...?

Makes that sense?



 
This may be true, but the song is called The Fisherman, not just Fishing.  I know a lot of fisherman that are speed-freaks, so I think it works just fine.
Posted 11 years ago by ch83575    [ Reply ]
 mgoldman wrote:
Thanks to John Fahey for giving Leo something to listen to and expand on.
 
I always thought they were pretty much contemporaries... was Fahey first?  Not that it really matters, they are both fun to listen to.
Posted 11 years ago by ch83575    [ Reply ]
Thanks to John Fahey for giving Leo something to listen to and expand on.
Posted 11 years ago by mgoldman    [ Reply ]

I understand what you mean, but this kind of guitarplaying means ABSOLUTELY

nothing to me!

 

Kottke, Byrne, Cohen and Enaudi in one band,

would be additional reason for war.

 

PS
Fishing is a dumb and very slow process,

why he is running his guitar like a speed-freak then...?

Makes that sense?


Posted 12 years ago by Stingray    [ Reply ]
I saw Leo Kottke at a free show in a chapel at Colgate University in 1973 on a spring afternoon. Sitting near the front I was blown away and have taken my son, who is a guitar player, to see him play twice. Enormous talent and wit    Thanks Steve NY
Posted 12 years ago by Steve_M    [ Reply ]
 George_Tirebiter wrote:
I saw Leo open for the Eagles @ a community college gymnasium in August 1974 - he just blew the place away, and that was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

 
Very nice......I used the PSD button to get here, myself.  RP Rules


Song is good, too


Posted 12 years ago by cohifi    [ Reply ]
I saw Leo open for the Eagles @ a community college gymnasium in August 1974 - he just blew the place away, and that was one of the best shows I've ever seen.
Posted 13 years ago by George_Tirebiter    [ Reply ]
 nagsheadlocal wrote:
Truly an American Master.

Hard to believe this came out in '69. I can still remember discovering it in college in the early 70s. Still an amazing disc.
 

Yes!  Please Bill correct the date. 1976 is way too late
Posted 14 years ago by Aud    [ Reply ]
Just got to see ol' Leo last week while he's out on tour with Los Lobos. Great show as always!
Posted 14 years ago by sharkartist    [ Reply ]

Bob Dylan meets Leo Kottke - Live (2008)

Posted 14 years ago by calypsus_1    [ Reply ]
highwindows wrote:
Always a pleasure to hear Leo. Pity we don't have "Louise" on the playlist ... a goose bump special. Not only is Leo an amazing guitarist but also has a lovely baritone voice.

Funny you should mention geese, as I've heard him describe his own take on his voice as "a flock of geese farting". There are other variations of that quote in print, but I agree with you. His vocals on the highly unlikely cover of Eddie Reeves and Alex Harvey's bubblegum hit*, "Rings"** turns mush into masterpiece.

*Not the duet with Mike Gordon, the earlier version

**the Archies (a studio band created as the music break in a Saturday morning cartoon of the classic sweet comic book) also covered this chestnut in a surprisingly sophisticated animated vignette


Posted 14 years ago by Businessgypsy    [ Reply ]
alway nice to have a some Leo in the afternoon!!
Posted 14 years ago by grimmel    [ Reply ]
I am just simply amazed by this song.
Posted 15 years ago by coyote620    [ Reply ]


Chet Atkins & Leo Kottke "Sleepwalk" Live


Posted 15 years ago by calypsus_1    [ Reply ]
{#Clap}
Posted 15 years ago by Loonytunas    [ Reply ]
 sharkartist wrote:
Damn, I missed it this time around. That's cool, perhaps he'll play it when I see him on the 3rd of February.
 
Don't count on hearing it live. Someone requested it at his last concert here and he said that the song has a bridge thing that he can't stand anymore and he still hasn't figured out how to get around it.
Interesting how the simple songs are the public's favorite.

Posted 15 years ago by ableape    [ Reply ]
Allways go back to this amazing album that at time was almost impossible to obtain, Takoma Records just didn't press that many, was in 1969 and here comes this guy playing accoustic stuff that sounded like 3 people playin' guitar. I had friend that played classical guitar and had seen Segovia's master classes but aside from the one Bach piece, which I loved it was just a radical break from the music of the time.
Posted 15 years ago by stkman    [ Reply ]
Absolutely sublime!
Posted 15 years ago by sharkartist    [ Reply ]
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
Posted 16 years ago by Mari    [ Reply ]
Damn, I missed it this time around. That's cool, perhaps he'll play it when I see him on the 3rd of February.
Posted 16 years ago by sharkartist    [ Reply ]
dolfan wrote:
Uncanny. Amazing. Phenomenal. Outstanding. If I could play a guitar like this just once to know how it felt...
Several years ago I learned to play "Ojo" (well, most of it, at least) on an acoustic guitar. It took a couple of months. It is one of the only songs I know that is actually more beautiful to play than to listen to. Many songs become less compelling after I learn to play them -- sort of like learning how the magician does his tricks. "Oh, so *that's* how it's done." Not Leo's songs. The man is a master.
Posted 16 years ago by twp    [ Reply ]
Always a pleasure to hear Leo. Pity we don't have "Louise" on the playlist ... a goose bump special. Not only is Leo an amazing guitarist but also has a lovely baritone voice.
Posted 16 years ago by highwindows    [ Reply ]
Truly an American Master. Hard to believe this came out in '69. I can still remember discovering it in college in the early 70s. Still an amazing disc.
Posted 17 years ago by nagsheadlocal    [ Reply ]
dolfan wrote:
Uncanny. Amazing. Phenomenal. Outstanding. If I could play a guitar like this just once to know how it felt...
Posted 17 years ago by crinky    [ Reply ]
God I love hearing tracks from this record and this is one of the most beautiful from that collection.
Posted 17 years ago by sharkartist    [ Reply ]
Uncanny. Amazing. Phenomenal. Outstanding. If I could play a guitar like this just once to know how it felt...
Posted 17 years ago by dolfan    [ Reply ]
Ahh... So nice. I lived in Minneapolis in the 60s-70s and was privileged to hear Leo play at that time.
Posted 17 years ago by StevenQ    [ Reply ]
This is just a fantastic album. Every song on it is good, and to top it off, his name is also perfect. I've seen him live twice, and although his shows were basically exactly the same, he's worth seeing at least once. The man sounds like he plays two guitars at once, so I had to see his slide technique in person.
Posted 17 years ago by leoparadise    [ Reply ]
sharkartist wrote:
Superb is the perfect word to describe this album. Wore out two vinyl copies over the years and trying at my CD. It would be hard for me to name my favotite album of all time but this would be included and certainly stand shoulder to shoulder with the others if I had to name my top ten.
My sister sent me this, although i've been on his case for 25 years or more. what a gent on the geetar. oh what a fine gent
Posted 17 years ago by maxmox    [ Reply ]
Wow, that sort of threw me off. I first heard this piece as recorded by Harvey Reid (if you like Leo Kottke, you'll love Harvey's stuff - it's at Woodpecker Records) I've seen harvey numerous times in concert, he's a true virtuoso on many many forms of stringed instrument. Some of his best work is fingerpicking an autoharp... Mmmmm. Anyway, not to say Leo doesn't rock as well :)
Posted 20 years ago by shayde    [ Reply ]
Beautiful, beautiful song - makes me tear up with happiness every time I hear it. Bless your soul Leo! (Even if your voice does sound like 'geese farting on a cloudy day'!) - Riff
Posted 20 years ago by riffster    [ Reply ]
geotrash wrote:
This song comes from perhaps my favorite album of all time. I have truly never found its equal. Superb.
Superb is the perfect word to describe this album. Wore out two vinyl copies over the years and trying at my CD. It would be hard for me to name my favotite album of all time but this would be included and certainly stand shoulder to shoulder with the others if I had to name my top ten.
Posted 20 years ago by sharkartist    [ Reply ]
Beautiful song.
Posted 20 years ago by funkaholic    [ Reply ]
Who could give Leo a 1?! What a gifted musician!
Posted 20 years ago by DBCinCA    [ Reply ]
This song comes from perhaps my favorite album of all time. I have truly never found its equal. Superb.
Posted 20 years ago by geotrash    [ Reply ]
Very nice! Refreshing!
Posted 20 years ago by DRS    [ Reply ]
How many times while trying to learn how to play just about everything that listened to, did I just put down my guitar and listen to this album in total awe?
Posted 21 years ago by chinacat    [ Reply ]
Criminy! This guy must have caluses on his fingers half an inch thick. :) Good stuff.
Posted 21 years ago by MrSpaz    [ Reply ]
Beautiful. This man is such a great talent.
Posted 21 years ago by Leslie    [ Reply ]
This is really very lovely. Hadn\'t heard any Kottke in decades.Ahhhhh !!!!! Radio Paradise!
Posted 21 years ago by philarktos    [ Reply ]
I think it\'s time for me to break out the bowing down symbol: This guy is such an incredible talent.
Posted 21 years ago by Carissa    [ Reply ]
First listener comment!! :D ---> comment <---
Posted 21 years ago by justlistening    [ Reply ]