Carolina time, grab the fishing line
Gonna get old Jim with the yellow-backed fly
Bought it in a store, paid a little more
Gonna catch that fish with the yellow-backed fly

Tried it last June with a lit firefly,
Layed it on the water with a perfect bullseye
Well Jim made a splash, gone in a flash
Beneath the water I heard him laugh

I go at six am, quiet as a hymn
Gonna catch old Jim with the Yellow-Backed Fly
Gonna catch him right, gonna catch him quick
Take him by surprise at the bottom of the crick (creek)

(Bridge)

He lives beneath a rock, underneath the shade
I will have him made with the yellow-backed fly
Here I am at last, lying in the grass
A quiet little cast with the yellow-backed fly

Felt a little tug, well Jim had bit the bug
Then I let him run with the yellow-backed fly
Jumped up on the land, spit it in my hand
He said "Nice try with the yellow-backed fly"

(Bridge)

Then he swam away, I gave him a farewell
Now I'm going home with a story to tell
I put the truck in gear, I'll be back next year
Gonna make a fly with a hypnotizing eye

I go at six am, quiet as a hymn
Gonna catch old Jim with the yellow-backed fly
Twenty inches long, measured with a stick
He's old Jim but to me he's Moby Dick

I go at six am, quiet as a hymn
Gonna catch old Jim with the yellow-backed fly
Twenty inches long, measured with a stick
He's old Jim but to me he's Moby Dick