American Old Time Song Lyrics: 28 They Never Told A Lie

Theater, Music-Hall, Nostalgic, Irish & Historic Old Songs, Volume 28

THEY NEVER TOLD A LIE.
Copyright, 1890, by Frank Harding.
Written, Composed and Sung by Thomas T. Carter.
Arranged by Charles Connolly.

Two wily fishermen they sailed forth
To the briny deep where the fish are caught.
For they'd oft told of deeds they'd done
To the Any tribe and the mess they'd won;
There never was a fisherman but knew the spot
And the time and the tide where fish were got.

Chorus.
They never told a lie, they never told a lie.
Both Sunday-school scholars, every one.
And they followed in the steps of Washington,
And they never told a lie.

Both shedder-crabs and shrimp had they.
To lure the fish that came that way,
And a bottle of rye, I'll also state,
For they never could fish without liquid bait.
They hooked one fish, it was lost, of course,
For it's always the largest fish that's lost.-Chorus.

They fished all day in the red-hot sun,
The amount they caught, it was not one;
They homeward stopped in a market spot.
From the man's ice-box they bought a lot,
Just to show their friends what they both had caught.
But they never said a word of what they bought.-Chorus.

When they walked home, the rain came down.
It rained so hard they were nearly drowned;
But they felt proud of the load they had.
They'd filled themselves with whiskey bad.
These two rogues, they'd not be stuck,
For they never said a word about fisherman's luck.-Chorus.

Their friends flocked 'round expectantly,
This wonderful mess of fish to see;
As each one gazed, he held his nose,
Now, what was the reason do you suppose?
They didn't smell sweet as fresh fish ought.
For it must have been a week since they'd been caught.-Chorus.