Lyle Lovett – If I Had A Boat

But Tonto he was smarterAnd one day said kemo sabeWell, kiss my ass, I bought a boatI’m going out to sea

Since I have been going over Texas Songwriters…I have saved Lovett for a while. I knew of him because his name is huge where I live and I’ve seen him on differrent shows throughout my life. So I started to listen to some of his music recently with high anticipation and was not disappointed.

The thing about these songwriters I like so much are the lyrics. What surprised me were the lovely melodies that sold those lyrics to listeners. You can write the best set of lyrics in the world but without a good melody they will just stay just lyrics.

He was born in the German farming community of Klein, Texas and was influenced by blues and country greats such as Ray Charles, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, and more. His music has a little bit of everything in it.  Western, folk, swing, jazz, bebop, blues, and gospel music. Lovett earned two degrees from Texas A&M University in Journalism and German, and music was his career of choice. One of his roommates in college was no other than fellow Texas songwriter Robert Earl Keen.

Lovett said that this song was based on a true story. He did try to cross a pond on a pony but he wished he had a boat when it happened. This song was about getting away from things and not being tied down.

This song was released in 1987 on the album Pontiac. The song peaked at #66 on the Billboard Country Charts. The album peaked at #12 on the Billboard Country Album Charts, #18 in Canada,  and #117 on the Billboard Album Charts.

He was asked if him and Robert Earl Keen were trying to carry on with the tradition that Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark started. He answered: There’s a direct line from those guys to Robert and me. We learned how to play those Guy Clark songs from Guy’s first record, and we sought out Guy and Townes as we came up, because we admired them so much, and got to know them. So their version of storytelling, their take on what a song was supposed to be, was something that Robert and I actively pursued.

On what Texas is to him: Texas is just home. I’m tethered here and lack perspective. My whole experience, every day in my life, is wrapped up in being from here. I’m what in the horse business we call barn blind. I really like my horses better than anybody else’s.

Lyle Lovett: Somehow you can tell the difference when a song is written just to get on the radio and when what someone does is their whole life. That comes through in Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson. There is no separating their life from their music.

If I Had A Boat

And if I had a boatI’d go out on the oceanAnd if I had a ponyI’d ride him on my boatAnd we could all togetherGo out on the oceanI said me upon my pony on my boat

If I were Roy RogersI’d sure enough be singleI couldn’t bring myself to marrying an old DaleWell, it’d just be me and TriggerWe’d go riding through them moviesThen we’d buy a boat and on the sea we’d sail

And if I had a boatI’d go out on the oceanAnd if I had a ponyI’d ride him on my boatAnd we could all togetherGo out on the oceanI said me upon my pony on my boat

The mystery masked man was smartHe got himself a Tonto‘Cause Tonto did the dirty work for freeBut Tonto he was smarterAnd one day said kemo sabeWell, kiss my ass, I bought a boatI’m going out to sea

And if I had a boatI’d go out on the oceanAnd if I had a ponyI’d ride him on my boatAnd we could all togetherGo out on the oceanI said me upon my pony on my boat

And if I were like lightningI wouldn’t need no sneakersI’d come and go wherever I would pleaseAnd I’d scare ’em by the shade treeAnd I’d scare ’em by the light poleBut I would not scare my pony on my boat out on the sea

And if I had a boatI’d go out on the oceanAnd if I had a ponyI’d ride him on my boatAnd we could all togetherGo out on the oceanI said me upon my pony on my boatI said me upon my pony on my boat

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

47 thoughts on “Lyle Lovett – If I Had A Boat”

  4. Love this song Max, for that matter anything Lyle Lovett! I bought Pontiac when it came out as I was turned on to Lyle’s “Cowboy Man” back in 86/7 by a friend. Great to read about how the song came about.

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    1. Yea trying to cross a pond with a pony…I really like what I’ve heard so far…I’ve been trying a crash course into the Texas songwriters…

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      2. Yes…I remember her fans asking why and his fans asking why as well lol…from what I read he is a shy guy and doesn’t like the spotlight.

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    1. This is the first time I really listened to him…I’m trying to get around to all of the Texas songwriters…it’s a lot of greatness there.

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    1. I just really started to listen to him this week really close. This is a really good album…and the song L.A. County is great as well.
      I never heard You Can’t Resist It…I’ll take a listen.

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  10. I’ve followed him for as long as he has made records. I saw him in Gruene Hall in early 2000s, and he kept the dance floor full for two hours. Texas produces some good story tellers as well as liars and scoundrels.

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    1. You got that right Phil…I’ve been covering some like Clark, Townes, Keen, Hubbard, Walker, Ely, and Escovedo… all of them have the great lyrics and melodies…
      They are different from anyone else.

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  11. He sure has the sound of a country singer but he defies the stereotypical look of one with his big hair, no hat, and dress shirt and tie. His heroes are worthy ones and it shows in his lyrics, like you said.

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    1. I agree with that….
      Lisa…I’ll make a post later…but I just met someone who knew all The Beatles and Bailey got a picture with her at an art gallery…pretty cool. She is famous in the Beatles world.

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  13. a fun song! The videos didn’t play on my phone but I got to see the regular one here. Like others have seemed to suggest, I know his name and that he briefly was Mr Julia Roberts and his hair is distinct, but couldn’t name any of his songs (I have heard a few, every one in awhile we have on some country playlist and I’ll ask ‘who’s this?’ and it turns out to be him). And to Phil’s comment, sometimes liars and scoundrels make the best of storytellers!

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    1. Yes they do! lol…
      This is the first time I’ve really listened to him carefully this week…he is really good.

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  14. Great song by an artist whose name I’ve known for the longest time. In a September 2023 Sunday Six post, I kind of randomly featured one of Lyle Lovett’s early ’90s songs (She Makes Me Feel So Good), which I like as well. Just like so many other artists, I really feel I ought to explore him. It all comes down to time or lack thereof!

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