Hoagie Carmichael and The Power of Expectations

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As I am navigating through Spotify, mindlessly skipping through songs and grazing through albums, I stumble upon "Some Days There Just Ain't No Fish" by Hoagy Carmicheal. A jazz classic released in 1947, it's a bouncy and bright tune from generations before. And while this song is very enjoyable without diving into any of the lyrics, I found the lyrics to be full of valuable euphemisms and carry meanings much more complex than general fishing lingo.

(Ain't no fish, ain't no flounder, ain't no tuna, ain't no fish)
Holy mac-ker-al!
Some days there just ain't no fish (Ain't no perch)
Ain't no flounder, you flounder for fish (Ain't no fish)
And although at times you get a messful
Other days are less successful
Some days there just ain't no fish

The lyrics of this stanza use fish to convey the message that life is full of ups and full of downs and that nothing in this world is 100%. Some days everything is going go your way and some days life will knock you to the ground. And while you are "floundering" for a fish, you are making yourself incapable of appreciating the small victories.

(Ain't no fish, ain't no fish)
Some days will start mighty fine (With a splash)
With a nibble that tugs at your line (Mighty fine)
But you reel it in to find you've caught
A beat-up shoe that's a-leakin' water
Some days there just ain't no fish

Many times we like to assume an event is certainly going to happen just because of the expectations we have in our mind. Therefore, when these events don't live up to our expectation or life gives us a leaky shoe, we are just left in disappointment. It is important to appreciate not only the fish that life gives you, but the leaky shoes too. If you instantly could reel in a fish with every cast, fishing would be predictable and unenjoyable. Just like fishing, only with patience and preparation will good things start to come your way.

(Tomorrow is unpredictable, so it may be sound advice)
(To put away some extra fish on ice)
Holy mac-ker-al!
Wish for a catch ev'ry day and you're wasting a wish
For some days there just ain't no fish
Some days there just ain't no fish
(Tuna, barracuda, pick-er-all huntin' gound until you're sick-er-all)
Holy mac-ker-al!
Some days there just ain't no fish

I believe that "putting fish on ice" is an analogy for appreciating and preserving the "highs" of life. One bad habit we can so easily form is when one good event happens we can immediately raise our expectations and wait for the next, better thing to come along. It's like if you are walking down the sidewalk and find $5 on the ground, you are bound to be stoked about your find and the outlook of your day will probably now be increasingly more positive. But if you had found a $20 a couple blocks ago and then stumbled across the same $5, you might just shrug it off and think "Well, it's not a $20". Carmicheal also conveys that expecting to catch a fish everyday is bound to set you up for failure. If you go through your life with your expectations set that everyday is supposed to be good, you are gonna get hit in the face when that first bad-day is thrown your way. 

(Ain't no fish, ain't no perch, don't get left in the lurch)
Holy mac-ker-al
(Some days you throw out your bait)
(And the World is your oyster, with pearls on your plate)
Doin' great!
Other times you may play all the angles
Still your line just dingle-dangles
Some days there just ain't no fish

Sometimes no matter the amount of planning we do for something or what kind expectations we set, we do not get the result we were looking for. You may approach something a hundred different ways, and never get exactly what you want. Other times, great things are going to come when you least expect them to and be a total shock. You have to learn to appreciate what life sends your way, regardless of if it is the exact answer you thought you were going to get or not. If we get so caught up looking for our own expectation we form in our mind, we may miss the blessings that are put right in front of us.

Despite the blatant use of double negatives, this song is a clever delivery of valuable messages. The melodic  "holy-mackerals" which are sprinkled throughout, are really the icing on the cake. I strongly recommend checking out the song for yourself, and discovering what you can take away from this jazz classic.