This Obsession

Chorus
They ripple o'er the puddle
And weave their wandering way
In narrowboats and cruisers
Along our waterways

What is this obsession
For crawling down a ditch?
Are these the new age boaters?
The idle and the rich?
They're young folks and they're old folks
They're loaded and they're poor
They're innocent and guilty
But they all come back for more

What is this obsession
For living in a boat
Who wants to squeeze a lifetime
Into a tube that floats?
They come from all and sundry
Retarded and retired
The wise and disillusioned
The mogul and the fired

Perhaps it is the posing
With black peaked skipper's hat on
Whilst struggling with a windlass
Up Tardebigge or Hatton
Perhaps it's tiller fever
Or the smokey diesel thud
The sunshine on the water.....
.....Or the ice and snow and mud

Repeat verse one

Kindly contributed by Tony Haynes who states that it was written for a gig at Southampton Canal Society.