Six Months in a Leaky Boat

"Six Months in a Leaky Boat" is a song by New Zealand art rock group Split Enz. It was released in May 1982 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, Time and Tide.

"Six Months in a Leaky Boat"
Single by Split Enz
from the album Time and Tide
B-side"Fire Drill"
ReleasedMay 1982
GenrePop, rock
Length4:21
LabelMushroom Records
Songwriter(s)Tim Finn, Split Enz
Producer(s)Hugh Padgham and Split Enz
Split Enz singles chronology
"Dirty Creature"
(1982)		 "Six Months in a Leaky Boat"
(1982)		 "Never Ceases to Amaze Me"
(1982)

The song is a reference to the time it took pioneers to sail to New Zealand (hence the reference to Aotearoa and The Tyranny of Distance - a history by Geoffrey Blainey), and a metaphor that refers to lead singer Tim Finn's nervous breakdown.[1]

The song was "discouraged from airplay" in Britain during the Falklands War by the BBC for reasons of morale - it was thought that references to leaky boats were not appropriate during the naval action in the war.[2]

At the 1982 Countdown Music Awards the song was nominated for Best Australian Single.[3][4]

Music video

The video shows band members dressed in nautical gear, and Maori artists performing traditional Maori poi dance.

Track listing
  1. "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" 4:21
  2. "Fire Drill" (Australian/NZ release)

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 2
Canadian Singles Chart[6] 7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] 7
UK Singles Chart[8] 83
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles[9] 104

Year-end charts
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 18

Covers
  • Canadian broadcaster and singer Liz Rigney covered the song for her 1999 album Chameleon (as "Leaky Boat").[11]
  • The song was covered by UK rock band Marillion as part of their "Friends" evening at the Marillion convention 2007
  • "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" was covered by Australian indie rock band Little Birdy, and appears on the 2005 compilation album She Will Have Her Way. They also played the song during their set at the Sydney Sound Relief concert.
  • Ted Leo and the Pharmacists covered the song as a solo performance on their album Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead, and later recorded a full-band arrangement for their Sharkbite Sessions EP. The solo version was featured on the compilation album "Take Action! Vol. 4", released in 2004. (Leo also titled one of his albums The Tyranny of Distance, a phrase which he credited to "Six Months in a Leaky Boat," though Split Enz had actually taken it from the title of a book by Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey.)
  • Australian children's entertainers The Wiggles covered this song on their album/video, It's a Wiggly, Wiggly World, with Tim Finn singing back up and appearing in the video, but with the lyrics significantly altered to be about Captain Feathersword.

Legacy

The song was voted the 5th best New Zealand song of all time in 2001 by members of APRA.

The song was used as the funeral song for explorer, environmentalist and sailor Sir Peter Blake, sung by Tim Finn with acoustic guitar, at Blake's service.

References
  1. Ostrander, Ken (April 26, 2012). Time and Tide - Split Enz. super groovy delicious bite
  2. The Q Encyclopedia of Rock Stars by Dafydd Rees and Luke Crampton, Dorling Kindersley 1999, page 938
  3. "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  4. "Final episode of Countdown". 1970scountdown. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 288. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  6. "RPM Canadian Charts". Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  7. "Charts.nz – Split Enz – Six Months in a Leaky Boat". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  8. "UK Singles Chart". Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  9. Whitburn, Joel (1998). Bubbling Under Singles & Albums (1998 ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wis., U.S.A.: Record Research. p. 190. ISBN 9780898201284.
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 434. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. Cowie Recordings
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