SHANTY BOAT
(Hal Blair / Louis Duhig)


Bonnie Guitar - 1957
Glenell & Jonell - 1957


He's standin' tall as a cypress tree
As he waits on a shanty boat named for me
And the fingers of the past reach out for me
Reach out for me, they all reach out for me

Shanty boat, shanty boat's callin' me home
Shanty boat's callin' me home
Bayou, bayou, bayou
Shanty boat's callin' me home

He said I'd leave, that I'd try my wings
When I tired of blitherin' wordly things
I'd hear the distant song the bayou sings
The bayou sings, the song the bayou sings

Shanty boat, shanty boat's callin' me home
Shanty boat's callin' me home
Bayou, bayou, bayou
Shanty boat's callin' me home

I've travelled far and I've travelled wide
But I've carried the want of him deep inside
I know that I must be there by his side
By his side, I'll be there by his side

Shanty boat, shanty boat's callin' me home
Shanty boat's callin' me home
Bayou, bayou, bayou
Shanty boat's callin' me home
Shanty boat's callin' me home
Shanty boat's callin' me home



(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - August 2020)