D A7 D G My waterway world is a wonderful place D A7 G D Where everyone greets me with smiles on their face G D Em Always tee-shirt and shorts, never jacket and tie Bm A7 G D As that wearisome working world just passes me by Chorus : G D A7 D So I’m going boating to slow down, unwind G D A7 D I’m a dreamboat navigator, leaving all cares behind In my waterway world the sun always shines On a Kodachrome landscape that's frozen in time No rain ever falls from a bright azure sky Though crystal clear water levels are always high In my waterway world every boater’s my mate There're no dead-lines to meet so I’m never late Nothing breaks down, so there’s nothing to mend And there’s always a real ale pub round the next bend In my waterway world the props always free 'Cos the cuts contain none of our urban debris Ropes never tangle, there’s no waiting at locks It’s a lifestyle not governed by wristwatch or clocks My waterway world provides a narrow escape From a life of brown envelopes, rules and red tape Navigating a system at mere walking speed Avoiding commercial aggression and greed But my waterway world is a foolish ideal A Utopian fantasy, it just isn’t real I’ll not list the problems, that's a ten verse encore So I’ll just close my eyes and dream a bit more My waterway world is a wonderful place . . . © I H Bruce 2009 Five verses of optimism followed by one of realism. This was inspired by John Conolly's 'Fiddlers Green' which describes a fishing boat crew's idea of Utopia. In this canal song I just had to balance the dream with the reality. After writing several verses about moody boaters, miserable fishermen, invisible waterway workers, broken lock gates, British Waterways/C&RT, etc., I felt that the song was becoming rather depressing and so settled for the last verse.