Polanda Blues
From the album Field of Dreams
I’ve been sitting here on this goddam boat
Must have been two hours or more
I’ve been six times around the island
And six times around the shore
All I got for my trouble
Is a condom and a plastic bag
They’re jumping all around me
Just to make me mad
Chorus
I got the polanda blues, that ain’t nothing new
Day after day, it goes the same way
But I ain’t gonna stop till I catch me a fish
Then I’m gonna make my favourite dish
Look out guys my time has come
This time tomorrow I’ll be number one
With no polanda blues
My pal Nicksha goes out every day
The same old places as me
For every fish that I don’t catch
He always catches three
Everyone says I got the gift
So no one can understand
Why day after day I come back
With two big empty hands
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG
I have always loved fishing even though growing up in London, it was not the easiest of sports to pursue. One of the best days of my life was when I pulled out of Mlini for the first time in my own boat. Most of the fisherman in this area fish from boats catching bluefish of the mackerel, tuna variety and the most prized of these fish is Polanda, the local name for Atlantic Tuna.
When I first started coming to Mlini in 1995, there was plenty of Polanda around, but there seems to be less and less every year. However, “My pal Niksha” has clearly sold his soul to the devil because every time he takes his boat out, he comes back with not only Polanda but a variety of other, even more desirable fish. Mind you, I suspect his multimillion-dollar fish finder might have something to do with it.
Nemo’s Books
