The Tide Pool

It's nothing at all when the tide is high

It's just a bunch of waves

They whip all around all the rocks

And chase all the fish into caves

But if you get there when the tide is low

And the pool is clear and clean

You can see to the bottom—

The damndest collection of creeps you ever seen

Hungry flowers that live on fish

Scooping in whatever comes

Crabs that grab another crab

And chew his legs—

The dirty bums!

Starfish, havin' himself a lunch

Eats a mussel off a shell

Shrimps and limpets and snails and eels

What a smelly tale they tell

Fightin' each other and eatin' each other and lousin' up the sea

Stupid sons of fishes

If you're askin' me!

Out on the top of the water

Everything seems all right

There's a sun on the bay at daytime

And a moon on the bay at night

A breeze blows in from off of the reef

And you hear the whistlin' buoy—

While Doc and me are chewin' the fat

And talkin' a lot of hooey

Out on the top of the water

It's quieter than a well—

While under the water, under the water

They're raisin' holy hell!

Get a load of the octopus!

Looking for a crab to eat

Oozes out of slimy weeds

Creeping on his floppy feet

Crab's too busy to see him come

Crab's a cinch to catch because

He is chewin' another crab

Strugglin' in his greedy claws—

Fighting each other

And eating each other

And lousing up the sea

Fighting and feeding

And mating and breeding

And filling up the sea

Stupid sons of fishes

Stupid sons of fishes

Stupid sons of fishes

To live in a tide pool!