I was standing on the bank of a high mountain lake,
With the last star barely gleamin'.
The air was colder than a gold-panner's ankles,
The water was a-steamin'.
With the blue of the skies like siamese eyes,
The rainbows started risin'.
In thirty-five minutes I had my limit,
And it was time for fryin'.

Coffee was a-boilin' on the high mountain lake,
The sour-dough was a-puffin'.
I flipped them fish on my old tin dish,
And I commenced a-stuffin'.
Slurpin' an' a-burpin' with the birds all a-chirpin',
With the chipmunks gladly sharin':
Then I took a leak as the sun took a peek
And over the ridge came starin'.

Then I crapped out 'till the middle of the day,
And I had a dream upsettin'
'Bout the Granddaddy Trout that got away,
And I woke up a-sweatin'.
Stripped off my clothes for a skinny-dip
With nary a pause for askin';
I dived in the lake--that was a mistake--
I knew when I came up gaspin'.

I was lyin' on the bank of the high mountain lake,
The sun it was a warmin'!
When the thundered rumbled just over the ridge,
I took that as a warnin'!
It's a common thing on a high mountain lake
To be caught in the summer showers,
And you can bet that you'll get wet
Sometime in the afternoon hours.

Clouds came a-grumblin' at the high mountain lake,
The trees began to sighin';
A chilly wind skittered-up the surface of the lake
And sent my hat a-flyin'.
When the lightenin' flashed and the thunder crashed
...I knew just what I oughter:
I checked out my lines then I ran for the pines
As the rain came across the water.

Well, the storm echoed on down the valley,
and this beautiful double-rainbow came out.
And if there's any truth at all to that thing about life adaptin' itself to the situation, then I figure them fish up there must'ave just absorbed that reflection right into their sides:
That's why we call 'em,
"Rainbow Trout"!

Now let me tell ya 'bout a dream come true !

The gold spinner flashed in the settin' sun
And just for a second hid there.
This MONSTER broke water in a darin' run
And struck that lure in mid-air!!!
Now, I knew durned well not to give him any slack,
And I thought I had him mastered,
But he made a last jump right over a stump
And snapped my line:  That's bad luck!

Well, some folks say that a fisherman lies,
But I'll swear by All in Heaven;
That trout must'ave weighed at least five pounds,
Good-lord! ...it might'ave been seven!!!
So I lost that fish, and I lost that lure,
And that's durned aggravatin',
But believe me, brother, I'll catch that mother...
I know he's lyin' there waitin'!

When the stars came back to the high mountain lake,
you could sip from the lip of the Dipper,
And the loudest sound in the world all around
was the zip of my bed-roll zipper.
Now here's the point to this age old song
(it's kind of an invitation):
When life gets tough and the goin' gets rough,
Take a high mountain lake vacation!

(Original music available for reissue.)
 Posted March, 2002