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Cover of Time and Tide by Split Enz — Cover: Time and Tide

Song · Split Enz

“Six Months In A Leaky Boat” by Split Enz

From the album Time and Tide (1982)

“Six Months In A Leaky Boat” by Split Enz appears on 14 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 1999 and 2011. It was first released in 1982 on the album Time and Tide. Its best result is #565 on the CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,499 alternative song of all time.

14countdowns

2stations

#565best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1999–2011years charted

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Split Enz - Pioneer / Six Months in a Leaky Boat

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"Six Months in a Leaky Boat" was the second single from Time and Tide, the 1982 album by New Zealand art rockers Split Enz, and Tim Finn wrote it. It rolls and pitches like a sea shanty for the new wave age, with a chorus built to be bellowed.

It went top 10 in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, but Britain was another story. It came out there during the Falklands War, and though it had been recorded before the fighting began, some listeners took it as a coded jab at the conflict; the BBC and many other stations pulled it, judging a song about leaky boats out of place while the navy was at sea. Closer to home it stuck: in 2001 a poll of the Australasian Performing Right Association put it fifth among the finest New Zealand songs ever.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

#1,499 of all time

All Rock Formats

#2,748 of all time

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1999	565	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	565	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	565	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	565	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2002	1555	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)	2002
2003	565	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2003	766	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)	2044
2004	565	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	565	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2007	1850	CD101	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)	2008
2008	1810	CD101	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)	2009
2009	1837	CD101	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)	2010
2010	1885	CD101	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)	2011
2011	1967	CD101	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)	2011

Also listed as: Six Months in a Leaky Boat.

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