Brooks was a phenomenal musical force in the 1990s. He had his chart breakthrough in 1989, having come apparently from nowhere, and was an immediate commercial success. Lacking the tall and lanky physical appearance typical of some male country stars, he successfully integrated pop and rock elements into his recordings and live performances. He soon began to dominate the country singles and country albums charts and quickly crossed over into the mainstream pop arena, selling records like no one else in country music ever had and exposing country music to a larger audience than previously thought possible.
Brooks enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, with over 70 hit singles and 15 charted albums to his credit and over 115 million albums sold in the US alone, breaking records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the 1990s. Possibly dissatisfied and looking to expand his career boundaries, he then attempted an artistically ambitious (but uncompleted) multimedia project involving a fictitious alter ego.
Troubled by the conflicts between career and family, the year after the decade ended Garth Brooks announced his retirement from recording and performing, thereby disappearing from the music world as suddenly as he had come.
Recently he has announced his return to live performances by agreeing to a 5 year 15 show a year contract in Vegas. His plan is to finish this contract, write some new stuff, and wait for his youngest daughter to go off to school, and then he plans to return to touring with his wife.
Fish
Garth Brooks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the Gulf of Mexico
And everyday I'd see this fellow
With his tackle box and pole
And he'd fish
And he'd fish
All day long
And when I got down to his spot
Me and him we got to talking
I said have you ever thought
About what you are going to do with your life
I said I'm about to share with you
My secret to success
So you can go make something of yourself
You can sell these fish you're catching
You can buy yourself a boat
Hard work and dedication
And the next thing that you know
You reinvest your money
You'll be captain of a fleet
You'll be sitting pretty down on Easy Street
And you can do anything that you wish
He says, you mean fish?
His simple words of wisdom
Hit me right between the eyes
And it really got me thinking
About the way I live my life
'Cause I just work
And I work
All day long
So I asked myself a question
That I knew the answer to
Is success a second mortgage
On a big house with a pool
Or is it a chair
The salt in the air
Wetting the line
That advice that I tried to give him
To take him to the top
Was really nothing more than just a crock
You can sell these fish you're catching
You can buy yourself a boat
Hard work and dedication
And the next thing you know
You reinvest your money
You'll be captain of the fleet
You'll be sitting pretty down on Easy Street
And you can do anything that you wish
He says, you mean fish?
So I went and bought some tackle
And a bucket full of bait
You can find me here most everyday
With my chair sitting there next to his
We just fish
Yeah, we just fish
Yeah fish, fish, fish, fish, fish
The song 'Fish' by Garth Brooks is a poignant tale about life and success. It starts with Garth Brooks on vacation in the Gulf of Mexico, where he sees a fellow fisherman, day in and day out, fishing relentlessly. Upon getting acquainted with the fisherman, Brooks suggests that he could sell his catch and invest in his own boat, to which the fisherman replies with confusion and asks, "You mean fish?" Later, Brooks reflects on his own life and contemplates whether true success is just about money or if it's the simple joys of life that truly matter. He concludes that it's the small things in life that truly make a difference and ends up joining the fisherman everyday to fish, experiencing the simple pleasure of life itself.
The lyrics of the song carry a deep meaning about the essence of life and finding true success. The fisherman symbolizes the simple joys of life, and the fact that he did not seek to make a business out of his love for fishing reflects the importance of pursuing your passion, enriching your life with the experience rather than just money. The song highlights that true success is not just about having material possessions, but it's the joy of living that makes all the difference.
Line by Line Meaning
I took a short vacation
I escaped my daily routine to a comfortable destination
To the Gulf of Mexico
I visited the coastal region to spend my time off
And everyday I'd see this fellow
I often encountered a person while I was around
With his tackle box and pole
He used a case full of fishing gear and equipment to catch fish
And he'd fish
He would use his fishing assets in pursuit of fish
And he'd fish
He remained engaged in fishing all day long
All day long
He kept fishing continually throughout the whole day
So one day I went out walking
I decided to take a walk outside one day
And when I got down to his spot
I headed where he usually fishes
Me and him we got to talking
We initiated a conversation and started talking to each other
I said have you ever thought
I asked him whether he had considered
About what you are going to do with your life
His aspirations for his future and what he plans to achieve
I said I'm about to share with you
I told him that I was going to reveal to him
My secret to success
The formula to prosper that worked for me
So you can go make something of yourself
So he could contribute to improving his current situation
You can sell these fish you're catching
You have the chance to trade the fish you take
You can buy yourself a boat
You can utilize your gains to purchase a boat
Hard work and dedication
Persistent effort and commitment are essential
And the next thing that you know
Very soon thereafter, provided sufficient effort
You reinvest your money
You can repeat the process and put back the gains
You'll be captain of a fleet
You could become a head of the squadron
You'll be sitting pretty down on Easy Street
You would be settled on a peaceful, prosperous path
And you can do anything that you wish
You could undertake anything you desire
He says, you mean fish?
He wasn't convinced that all of that needed just catching fish
His simple words of wisdom
He uttered a thoughtful and valuable piece of advice
Hit me right between the eyes
Struck me the moment he spoke with great impact
And it really got me thinking
I found myself introspecting based on his words
About the way I live my life
The lifestyle I follow and its associated guidance
'Cause I just work
I was always busy with my work
And I work
I keep working persistently
All day long
I typically spend the whole day doing it
So I asked myself a question
I asked myself an inquiry
That I knew the answer to
Whose answer I was already aware of
Is success a second mortgage
Can gaining prosperity be only about owning more property
On a big house with a pool
A colossal housing and swimming pool feature
Or is it a chair
Or could it be only a piece of seating
The salt in the air
The quality of the air and its salinity
Wetting the line
Making your fishing tool wet to catch fish
That advice that I tried to give him
The guidance that I intended to provide
To take him to the top
To assist him in attaining a lofty status
Was really nothing more than just a crock
Turned out to be just something foolish and unreliable
So I went and bought some tackle
Hence, I proceeded to buy fishing gear
And a bucket full of bait
Also, I got myself enough food for the fish
You can find me here most everyday
I'm now here most of the time
With my chair sitting there next to his
Sitting beside him with a chair of my own
We just fish
I share the love for fishing with him now
Yeah, we just fish
Indeed, we simply do nothing but fish
Yeah fish, fish, fish, fish, fish
We keep fishing, constantly catching as many fish as possible
Lyrics © Anthem Entertainment, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRIS ALLEN WALLIN, WYNN VARBLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Hollie Nemitz
Love this song!!!
Jennifer Dijames
Sounds good Garth.
Mohawk Steel
all the A type people should listen to this and THINK about it.
Hollie Nemitz
I took a short vacation, to the Gulf of Mexico
Every day I'd see this fellow, with his tackle box and pole
and he'd fish....and he'd fish....all day long.
So one day I went out walking & when I got down to his spot
Me and him we got to talking, I said, have you ever thought
about what you...are gonna do....with your life?!?
I said "I'm about to share with you my secret to success, so you can go make something of yourself!"
You can sell these fish you're catching, you can buy yourself a boat. Hard work and dedication and the next thing that you know, if you re-invest your money, you'll be captain of a fleet, you'll be sitting pretty down on easy street and you can do anything that you wiisshh.
He says "You mean....FISH?!?"
His simple words of wisdom hit me right between the eyes, and it really got me thinking about the way I live my life - cause I just work, and I work, all day long.
So I asked myself a question, that I knew the answer to, is success a second mortgage on a big house with a pool? Or is it a chair...salt in the air.....wet'n the line?
That advise I tried to give to him, to take him to the top, was really nothing more than just a croocckkk.
You can sell these fish you're catching, you can buy yourself a boat. Hard work and dedication and the next thing that you know, if you re-invest your money, you'll be captain of a fleet, you'll be sitting pretty down on easy street and you can do anything that you wiisshh.
He says "you mean, FISH?!?"
So I went and bought some tackle, and a bucket full of bait, and you can find me here most every day, with my chair sitting there next to him....and we just fish.
Yea we just fish......yea fish, fish, fish, fish, fish.........