Old Man Wills
Although muskies are my main passion these days, as a kid I spent a lot of time chasing trout in various brush covered creeks and rivers. I had read a lot about the famous Brule River in northern Wisconsin. My Uncle Dave fished the Brule quite often and his tales of fish caught and lost captivated me at an early age. Additionally, I had a neighbor (a 90 year old man named Will) who was a legendary trout angler. Together, their stories along with my imagination spawned this song.
Old Man Wills
Every spring and fall when the water gets cold, it’ll chill ya to the bone
The trout all make their annual run to the grounds they once called home,
The men they come from far and near to fulfill their angling dream
But none were so possessed as the one that lived on the banks of that mighty stream
Chorus-
Old Man Wills lived up the in the hills in a cabin where the river is wide
And every day you could see him fishin with his dog Jess by his side,
All he had was a can of worms and split bamboo for a pole
He worked that river from dawn to dusk in a spot called Dead Man’s Hole
The spring was fine, old Will’s would say, but the fall was his favorite time
When snow would fly from November sky and the ice clung to his line
He worked that river with a sullen stare and a blank look in his eye
For down below lived a trout so big he vowed he’d fish him till the day he died
Well the legend says bout 10 years ago when Will’s was a younger man
He had one on so big and strong, it ripped the line right from his hands
Well he broke his line and he busted his pole when he made his final run
And Will’s vowed that day that he’d catch that fish if it’s the last thing he’d ever done
Chorus-
Well late one day I grabbed my rod, thought I’d go down to the river
The snow was flying as I made my down the bank when I started to shiver,
I looked down where Will’s should have been and all I saw was his dog Jess
And a can of worms tipped over on the bank and some line in a tangled mess,
Well Will’s was gone and I didn’t know where on that cold and dreary day
As I approached I saw a sight that took my breath away.
It was his busted pole laying there in the water, I looked down couldn’t believe what I saw
It was a monster trout just swimming away with Will’s fishin hat clamped in his jaw
Chorus-
Word spread fast across the land bout the happening on the river that day
Some folks say he had a heart attack and that he just passed away
But I know better I know what I saw in the jaws of that big brown
Will’s had him on when he made a lunge and the fish just sucked him down!
Chorus
Copyright 2005: Words and Music by Joe Weiss
