Album sleeve artwork for his four Marillion albums and most of his solo albums has been done by Mark Wilkinson.
Fish is not to be confused with Phish, Chris Squire (“The Fish”), Barry Melton ("the Fish" of Country Joe & the Fish), Grossa or Bradley Fish.
He has worked with many other artists, including Tony Banks (Genesis) and Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s (Ayreon) as the Highlander in Into the Electric Castle.
2. Fish is a Chinese experimental electronic musician.
3. fish is the name of a Soundcloud account used by electronic musician Gupi.
Internal Exile
Fish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heading out west for the Lothian Road
An Evening News stuffed deep in his pocket
Wrapped up in his problems to keep away the cold
Grierson's spirit haunts the dockyards
(Where) the only men working (are on the) documentary crews
Shooting film as the lines get longer
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
Starlings wheeling round Georgian spires
And the fires of Grangemouth burn the skies
A lion sleeps in a tenement close
In the country that's tired and deaf to his roar
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
We've got to go now
Won't you please let us go now?
They bury a wasteland deep in the wilderness
Poison the soil and reap the harvest
Of blind indifference, greed and apathy
Sowed way back in our history
The fish are few and the harbours are empty
The keels now rot on our oil slicked shores
The sheep are gone, the farms deserted
(We're) It's out of sight and we're out of mind
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
(We're gonna go now)
(We're gonna go now)
Like our fathers before us we've eyes for America
Dream of a new life on foreign shores
(But) wherever we go we'll always know
That the land we stand on is never our own
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
We're internal exiles
We've got to, got to let go
We're internal exiles
As if we've got to let go
We've got to let go
We've got to go now
Won't you please let us go now?
Internal exile
Internal exile
Won't you please let us go now?
The song "Internal Exile" by Fish talks about the struggles of those who feel like they don't belong in their own country or community. The first verse talks about a man who is trying to escape his problems by heading out west. He's carrying a newspaper to keep him warm, but he's really just trying to avoid dealing with his issues. The second verse talks about the decline of the dockyards and the only people left are documentary crews capturing it on film. The chorus repeats the phrase "internal exile" and questions when people will realize that they need to let go of their struggles and move on from their internal exile.
The following verses talk about the environment and its destruction due to greed and apathy. Fish describes how the fish and sheep are gone, harbours are empty, and how the farms have been deserted. The final verse talks about how people dream of going to America in search of a new life, but they'll never be able to truly belong there because they'll always remember the land where they came from.
Overall, the song is about feeling displaced and disconnected from the world around you. It's about struggling to find your place and coming to terms with the fact that you might never truly feel like you belong.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw a blue umbrella in Princes Street Gardens
I saw someone in Princes Street Gardens carrying a blue umbrella
Heading out west for the Lothian Road
The person was going west to the Lothian Road
An Evening News stuffed deep in his pocket
The person had an Evening News newspaper in their pocket
Wrapped up in his problems to keep away the cold
The person was preoccupied with their own problems in order to avoid feeling the cold
Grierson's spirit haunts the dockyards
The spirit of Grierson is present at the dockyards
(Where) the only men working (are on the) documentary crews
The only men present and working at the dockyards are the ones on documentary crews
Shooting film as the lines get longer
The documentary crews are filming as the lines of workers get longer
As the seams run out, as the oil runs dry
The seams and oil are running out
Hey there laddie, internal exile
Referring to a young man who is trapped within himself
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
When will the young man realize that he needs to let go of his problems?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
Referring to a young woman who is trapped within herself
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
When will the young woman realize that she needs to let go of her problems?
Starlings wheeling round Georgian spires
Starlings are flying around the spires of Georgian buildings
And the fires of Grangemouth burn the skies
Fires from Grangemouth are visible in the sky
A lion sleeps in a tenement close
A lion is sleeping near a tenement building
In the country that's tired and deaf to his roar
The country is tired and indifferent to the lion's roar
We've got to go now
We need to leave
Won't you please let us go now?
Please let us leave
They bury a wasteland deep in the wilderness
A wasteland is being buried deep in the wilderness
Poison the soil and reap the harvest
The soil is being poisoned, but people still harvest crops from it
Of blind indifference, greed and apathy
These actions are the result of blind indifference, greed, and apathy
Sowed way back in our history
These problems were caused by actions that happened in the past
The fish are few and the harbours are empty
There are few fish and the harbors are empty
The keels now rot on our oil slicked shores
The keels (of boats) are now rotting on shores covered in oil
The sheep are gone, the farms deserted
The sheep are gone and farms are empty
(We're) It's out of sight and we're out of mind
These problems are hidden and people are ignoring them
Like our fathers before us we've eyes for America
People are still focused on moving to America, as their fathers did
Dream of a new life on foreign shores
People dream of starting a new life in a foreign land
Wherever we go we'll always know
No matter where they go, they will always know
That the land we stand on is never our own
They will never truly own the land they are standing on
We're internal exiles
We are trapped within ourselves
As if we've got to let go
We need to let go of our problems
Won't you please let us go now?
Please let us leave
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DEREK WILLIAM DICK, MIKE SIMMONDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@patrickstocks3986
I saw a blue umbrella ☂️ in Princes Street Gardens
Heading out west for the Lothian Road
An Evening News stuffed deep in his pocket
Wrapped up in his problems to keep away the cold 🥶
Grierson’s spirit haunts the dockyards
(Where) the only men working (are on the) documentary crews
Shooting film 🎥 as the lines get longer
As the seams run 🏃♀️ out, as the oil runs dry
Hey 👋 there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) (see that) we’ve got to let go?
Hey 👋 there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we’ve) (you’ve) got to let go?
Starlings wheeling round Georgian spires
And the fires 🔥 of Grangemouth burn the skies 🌌
A lion 🦁 sleeps 🛏 in a tenement close
In the country that’s tired 💤 and deaf to his roar 🐯
Hey 👋 there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) (see that) we’ve got to let go?
Hey 👋 there laddie, internal exile
When will you realise (we’ve) (you’ve) got to let go?
+(we’ve got to go now)
+(won’t you please let us go now?)
+They bury a wasteland deep in the wilderness
+Poison the soil and reap the harvest
+Of blind indifference, greed and apathy
+Sowed way back in our history
+The fish 🎣 are few and the harbours are empty
+The keels now rot on our soil slicked shores
+The sheep 🐑 are gone, the farms deserted
+(We’re) (it’s) out of sight and we’re out of mind
+Hey there laddie, internal exile
+When will you (realise) (see that) we’ve got to let go?
+Hey there lassie, internal exile
+When will you realise (we’ve) (you’ve) got to let go?
Like our fathers before us we’ve eyes 👀 for America
Dream of a new life on foreign shores
(But) wherever we go we’ll always know
That the land we stand on is never our own
Hey 👋 there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) (see that) we’ve got to let go?
Hey 👋 there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we’ve) (you’ve) got to let go?
+These lines are omitted from the 7” and karaoke 🎤 edits
@markjohnston1813
how can people not love this man fish ,his songs are just simply masterpieces,
@johnchesterman6016
❤
@checkmate545
Fish should be on a Scottish Stamp, he's always been the face, heart and soul of Scotland 💖
@siler7
This is the most Scottish thing on the entire internet.
@cesarcontrerasbarrera1115
I am chilean.. but yours warriors. Living in ours minds..
@seanmcgoldrick4870
This should be our independence song.
@cliffclavin3865
I used to work with a right prick back in the early 90s when I was an apprentice. But I'll be forever grateful to him for going out on his lunch hour, buying this album on cassette and playing it non stop in the lab. The bloke introduced me to the genius of Fish, so thank you sir👏
@UAPch
Imagine what a prick he would have been without Fish to direct him to let go his worst frustrations
@RythymBeast
You're welcome ya no good motherfucker!
@jakespoon2281
Scotland RESPECT from Poland!!!