Jim Morris Tarpon Jim lyrics

He works on the water and curses the wind.
The years in the sun burned so deep in his skin.
He's eighty, tired, a little restless, and waiting to die.
And he speaks of the time when he caught that great prize,
A tall southern beauty with the dark Creole eyes.
Her family had money and an uptown address.
Her parents said “No way,” but the lady said “yes.”
She said, “I'll be there till the light dies in your eyes.
Yes, I'll be there till the light dies in your eyes.”

So, we sailed down to Honduras, but that dream didn't last.
Chased the fish to Useppa, worked the Boca Grande Pass.
Times were hard for fishing nomads, and we barely got by.
After years in the fish camps I feared she would say,
“Out of all of my choices, life turned out his way.”
But she said, “It'll work out. I have no regrets.
You've shown me a life that I'll never forget.”
She said, “I'll be there till the light dies in your eyes.
Yes, I'll be there till the light dies in your eyes.”

So we moved to the Keys; she got the home that she wished.
From Key West to Flamingo, I owned those big fish.

Times were good, we were happy, and the years quickly passed by.
But that storm came so fast. Hell, I nearly drowned.
The surge took the house. She never was found.
And I searched for three weeks, never wanting to quit.
I kept hearing those words that I'll never forget.
She said, “I'll be there till the light dies in your eyes.
Yes, I'll be there till the light dies in your eyes.”

So he said, “You know I've got fish to catch and stories to remember.
I'd write me a book if I could stay alive that long.
And I'll play my guitar and sing of her memory,
Of the woman who loved me so well for so long.
And Lord knows I'm thankful for the years that we had,
But some days even that's not enough.
She said it'll work out, but I'm not convinced.
Cause she made me the man that I've never been since.
She said, 'I'll be there till the light dies in your eyes.
Yes, I'll be there till the light dies in your eyes.
I'll be there till the light dies in your eyes.'”