Canadian Folk Songs Centennial Collection - Volume ••

Canadian Folk Songs Centennial Collection

Part 7 of 9:
Songs and ballads of the lumber camps

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The lumber camps of eastern Canada— from the Atlantic provinces to Ontario— have provided one of the richest sources of folk songs, for it is in these camps, during the long winter months, that woodsmen entertained each other (and learned from each other) many of the traditional ballads and folk songs of their ancestors, and created their own songs and ballads, either to amuse themselves and help them in their work, or to record some of their experiences— both tragic and humorous— in the woods. The tunes of their songs were frequently borrowed from older folk songs, and in many instances— especially among French-speaking woodsmen— the stories of traditional folk songs were adapted to various "workable" tunes, to which were added simple refrains to suit their new uses.

Examples of all these forms are included in this album.

Related item: A CD entitled Songs of the Voyageurs is available from the Minnesota Historical Society.

V'la L'bon Vent (folk song)

Jacques Labrecque ; 2:53 [Track 1, side A] file: CFS701.mp3

This canoe-paddling song is one of a hundred Canadian verrsions of an ancient French folk song that tells the curious tale of "Les trois canards" (The Three Ducks), in which a princely hunter shoots down a young lady's pet duck with his silver gun. Why this seemingly inconsequential story should have appealed to dearly to Canada's early French st=ettlers, and to the generations that followed, makes one wonder, but it is safe to say that no other song of the "old world" has had a greater number of versions and uses in Canadaa, or a greater variety of tunes, for that matter. While its story has remained relatively intact, it has been sung in all imaginable forms— from work-songs for varied occupations, to love-songs, party-songs, game-songs, and nonsense-songs— with a wide assortment of appropriate refrains.

The version given here is one of the most popular of the many canoe-paddling tunes used by woodsmen and "voyageurs".

V'la l'bon vent, v'la l'joli vent
V'la l'bon vent m'amie m'appelle
V'la l'bon vent, v'la l'joli vent
V'la l'bon vent m'amie m'attend

Derrier chez nous y'a t'un etang (2x)
Trois beaux canards s'en vont baignant

Trois beaux canards s'en vont baignant
Le fils du roi s'en va chassant

Le fils du roi s'en va chassant
Avec son grand fusil d'argent

Avec son grand fusil d'argent
Visa le noir, tua le blanc

Visa le noir, tua le blanc
Oh fils du roi, tu est mechant

Oh fils du roi, tu est mechant
D'avoir tuer mon canard blan

 

The Lumbermen's Alphabet (folk song)

Charles Jordan; 3:18 [Track 2, side A] file: CFS702.mp3

Songs based on making up rhymes to fit the latters of the alphabet exist in many forms, from nursery songs to sea-shanties and other work-songs, such as the one given here, in which all the rhymes have to do with the various chores, tools and t erms familiar to woodsmen. Such songs have been popular in all lumber camps in one form or another; this ones was collected in Ontario by Edith fulton Fowlke.

A is for axes that you may all know;
And B is for boys that make them all go;
C is for choppers so early begun
And D is for danger we often stand in.

CHORUS :

'Tis merry, 'tis merry, 'tis merry are we
No mortal on earth, so happy as we.
A derry, Lo derry, Ring derry dum.
Give us shantymen's grog and there'll nothing go wrong.

E is the echo that through the woods rang:
F is the foreman, head one of our gang;
G is the grindstone so merrily goes round
And H js the handle, so smoothly 'tis worn.

 

I is the Iron that mark-ed the pine;
J is the Jov-al that's never behind;
K is the keen edge our axes we keep
And L is the lice that over us creep.

M is the moss we patch-ed the cracks
And N is the needle we patch-ed our pants;
O is the owl that hooteth at night
And P is the pine that always falls right.

Q is the quarrel we never allow;
R is the river we float our logs down
S is the sleds so stout and so strong
And T is the teams that go jog 'em along.

U is the use we put our teams to;
V is the valley we draw our logs through;
W is the woods we leave in the spring
And this is all I am going to sing.

 

C'est Dans Le Mois De Mai (folk song)

Raoul Roy; 1:37 [Track 3, side A] file: CFS703.mp3

This is another fine example of how an ancient French folk song was transformed into a canoe-paddling tune, though its amorous verses might just as easily reflect the sentiments of a voyageur sweetheart and of how eagerly he looks forward to rejoining her in the month of May, "when all the girls are pretty", and he wishes he could spend the rest of his days with her in a little cottage near a brooklet.

The song was collected in New Brunswick by Rev. Fathers Danial and Anselme.

C'est dans le mois de mai
En montant la rivière
C'est dans le mois de mai
Que les filles sont belles

Que les filles sont belles oh gai
Que les filles sont belles

Et que tous les amants
En montant la rivière
Et que tous les amants
Y changent leur maîtresse

Y changent leur maîtresse oh gai
Y changent leur maîtresse

Mais moi je n'changerai pas
En montant la rivière
Mais moi je n'changerai pas
Car la mienne est trop belle

ACar la mienne est trop belle oh gai
Car la mienne est trop belle

Ah comme il serait doux
En montant la rivière
Ah comme il serait doux
D'avoir un baiser d'elle

D'avoir un baiser d'elle oh gai
D'avoir un baiser d'elle

Mais encore bien plus doux
En montant la rivière
Mais encore bien plus doux
De coucher avec elle

De coucher avec elle oh gai
De coucher avec ell

Peter Emberley (folk song)

Tom Kines; 3:10 [Track 4, side A] file: CFS704.mp3

A tragic ballad that is widely popular throughout the lumber camps of eastern canada and U.S.A., this song tells the true story of a young man who left his native province of Prince edward Island to work in the lumber woods of the Miramichi River region of New Brunswick, and who was fatally injured when struck by falling logs. The verses were written shortly after Peter's death, in 1881, by a New Brunswick balladeer named John Calhoun, who had known the young victim, and who followed aa common tradition of relating the tragic story in the first person.

The song is sung to several different tunes, and the version given here was collected in Nova Scotia by Dr. Helen Creighton.

A photograph of Emberly's burial monument in Bolestown, NB, can be seen here.

My name is Peter Emberley
As you may understand
I was born on Prince Edward Island
Close by the ocean strand
In eighteen hundred and eighty
When the flowers wore a brilliant hue
I left my native coun-ter-ee
My fortune to pursue.

I landed in New Brunswick
That lumbering coun-ter-ee
I hired to work in the lumbering woods
Down south of Miramichi
I hired to work in the lumbering woods
To cut the tall spruce down
While loading teams with yarded logs
I received my deathly wound.

There's danger on the ocean
Where the waves roll mountains high
There's danger on the battlefield
Where angry bullets fly
There's danger in the lumber woods
For death lurks silent there
And I have fallen a victim
Unto its monstrous snare.

Here's adieu unto my father
It was him who sent me here
It was him who drove me here to die
By his treatment too severe
It is not right to press a boy
Or try to keep him down
For it will make him leave his home
When he is far too young.

My name is Peter Emberley
As you may understand
I was born on Prince Edward Island
Close by the ocean strand
In eighteen hundred and eighty
When the flowers wore a brilliant hue
I left my native coun-ter-ee
My fortune to pursue.

I landed in New Brunswick
That lumbering coun-ter-ee
I hired to work in the lumbering woods
Down south of Miramichi
I hired to work in the lumbering woods
To cut the tall spruce down
While loading teams with yarded logs
I received my deathly wound.

There's danger on the ocean
Where the waves roll mountains high
There's danger on the battlefield
Where angry bullets fly
There's danger in the lumber woods
For death lurks silent there
And I have fallen a victim
Unto its monstrous snare.

Here's adieu unto my father
It was him who sent me here
It was him who drove me here to die
By his treatment too severe
It is not right to press a boy
Or try to keep him down
For it will make him leave his home
When he is far too young

Envoyons D'l'avant, Nos gens< (folk song)

Yves Albert; 1:54 [Track 5, side A] file: CFS705.mp3

This lively canoe-paddling song is a home-made anonymous creation that is believed to have originated with French-speaking woodsmen of the Ottawa and Gatineau Rivers. It describes the joyous homecoming of the lumberjacks at spring break-up time, when, after having spent the winter in the woods, they are greeted with much celebration by relatives and friends.

Quand on part des chanquiers
Mes chers amis tous le coeur gai
Pour aller voir tous nos parents
Mes chers amis le coeur content.

REFRAIN
Envoyons d'l'avant nos gens
Envoyons d'l'avant!

Pour aller voir nos parents
Mes chers amis le coeur content
Mais qu'on arrive en Canada
Y va falloir y mouiller ça.
Refrain

Mais qu'on arrive en Canada
Y va falloir y mouiller ça.
Ah! Mais qu'ça soye tout mouillé
Vous allez voir qu'ça va marcher.
Refrain

Dimanche au soir à la veillée
Nous irons voir nos compagnées.
Elles vont nous dire mais en entrant
V'là mon amant, j'ai l'coeur content!
Refrain

Elles vont nous dire mais en entrant
V'là mon amant, j'ai l'coeur content!
Et au milieu de la veillée
Elles vont nous parler d'leus cavaliers.
Refrain

Et au milieu de la veillée
Elles vont nous parler d'leurs cavaliers.
Elles vont nous dire mais en partant
As-tu fréquenté des amants?
Refrain

Elles vont nous dire mais en partant
As-tu fréquenté des amants?
Qui a composé la chanson?
C'est Jos Blanchet le joli garçon!
Refrai

 

Ye Boys Of The Island (folk song)

Alan Mills: 1:52 [Track 6, side A] file: CFS706.mp3

One of the most popular of all native bards of the eastern lumber camps, both in Canada and the U.S.A., was Lawrence "Larry" Gorman, who was widely known as the "man who makes the songs", and who wrote countless satirical ballads and other songs while he worked in the forests of New Brunswick and Maine from 1873 to the early 20th century. Gorman was born in Prince Edward Island, and although he spent most of his life as a woodsman, he evidently didn't think too highly of that vocation, as may be gathered from this song, in which he advises young "Islanders" not to follow his example, for "a lumberman's life"— he warns— "is of short duration, made up of tobacco, hard work and bad rum."

Dans Les Chantiers Nour Hivernerons (folk song)

Jacques Labrecque; 1:29 [Track 7, side A file: CFS707.mp3

One of the favorites of French-speaking woodsmen, this "native" complaint song lists some of the hardships of working in the lumber camps all through the winter, and of sometimes ending the season with no pay because the cmp boss claims he's bankrupt. Contrasting these u nhappy conditions with the warm welcome the woodsmen get when they come home, the song ends by proclaiming that "we;ll never spend another winter in the lumber-camps!"

Les Raftsmen (folk song)

Jacques Labrecque; 2:22 [Track 1, side B] file: CFS708.mp3

Of all the home-grown folk songs of Canada, this rollicking, driving tune is certainly one of the liveliest and most popular songs of French-speaking woodsmen. It describes how a gang of lumberjacks go off to their camps by canoe in the fall, stopping off at "Bytown" (the old name for Ottawa) to pick up provisions, and work through the winter, existing mainly on "pork and beans", before they are able to return home and greet their loved ones.

The men were sometimes referred to as "raftsmen" because of the springtime practice of tying hundreds of rough logs together into huge rafs, on which they lived as they guided them down swollen rivers and lakes to the nearest mill-towns or shipping centres.

While much of Canada's logging industry has been mechanized, rafting is still carried on in some areas where water expanse permits.

Là ousqu'y sont, tous les raftsmen?
Là ousqu'y sont, tous les raftsmen?
Dans les chanquiers i'sont montés.
Refrain
Bing sur la ring! Bang sur la ring!
Laissez passer les raftsmen
Bing sur la ring! Bing, bang!

Et par Bytown y sont passés
Et par Bytown y sont passés
Avec leurs provisions achetées.

En canots d'écorc' sont montés
En canots d'écorc' sont montés
Et du plaisir y s'sont donné.

Des porc and beans ils ont mangé
Des porc and beans ils ont mangé
Pour les estomac restaurer.

Dans les chanquiers sont arrivés
Dans les chanquiers sont arrivés
Des manch's de hache ont fabriqué.

Que l'Outaouais fut étonné
Que l'Outaouais fut étonné
Tant faisait d'bruit leur hach' trompée.

Quand le chanquier fut terminé
Quand le chanquier fut terminé
Chacun chez eux sont retourné.

Leurs femm's ou blond's ont embrassé
Leurs femm's ou blond's ont embrassé
Tous très contents de se r'trouver.

Ye Maidens of Ontari (folk song)

Tom Kines; 2:33 [Track 2, side B] file: CFS709.mp3

A counterpart of Les Raftsmen, this popular song of English-speaking woodsmen describes the hazards of guiding large log-rafts through storm-swept lakes and treacherous rapids from Ontario to Quebec, and contrasts these dangers with the peaceful work of the "lowland loafing farmer boys", who stay at home with the girls.

Les "Draveurs" De La Gatineau (folk song)

Raoul Roy; 2:01 [Track 3, side B] file: CFS710.mp3

Like many of the songs of french-speaking lumberjacks (such as Les Raftsmen), this canoe-paddling tune is sung in the dialect that is peculiar to the "bûcherons" (woodsmen), who sometimes adapt english words into their own language. For example, the word "draveurs" is borrowed from "drivers"— or "log-drivers"— which is a term used for the men who hob it was to drive the logs down dangerous streams and through treacherous currents, always on the lookout to guard against dreaded log-jams which could cause long delays and tragic accidents.

The song describes the work of a crew of drivers— led by "Jack Boyd, not' grand foreman"— as they guided their longs down he swift running Gatineau River.

Elizabth Palmer kindly supplied the following lyrics and comments:

Adieu, charmante rive (** or it can be ""Adieu la belle rive..")
Du Kakabongué.
Voilˆ le temps qu'arrive,
Il faut nous séparer.
L'hiver est arrivé
Avec tous ses embarras
Cent hommes se sont rassemblés,
Jack Boyd les conduira, Jack Boyd les conduira.


Puis Fernand tu nous quitte
Ton sac dessus le dos.
Tu nous quitte trop vite
Tu maudit nos billots.
Tu maudit nos rivières,
Nos rames, nos avirons.
T u maudit jusquà l'air
Que nous respirerons....Que nous respirerons.

Sautons chutes et rapides
Nageant adroitement.
Nos chemises humides
Secheront lentement (often sung alternatively as...Courons sur la lisière Qui suit le grant courant.)
Arrivé au desert
ƒgouin nous attend là,
Et sur le gazon vert
C'est lui qui traitera, C'est lui qui traitera.

Buvons mes camarades
À la santé d'Éegouin.
Trois ou quatre razades
t donnons lui la main.
Dravons la Gatineau.
Dravons jusqu'en bas,
Et nos barges sur l'eau
Vont mieux qu'un rbascat, Vont mieux qu'un rqabascat. (A "rabascat" is a kind of large birchbark canoe.)

Johnny Doyle (folk song)

Charles Jordan; 1:52 [Track 4, side B] file: CFS711.mp3

Of all the hazards of a lumberjack's work, none is more dangerous than trying to break up log jams that occasionally occurred in narrow, swift-running rivers, when a few logs would get caught on some rocky boulder and others would telescope into them, blocking the flow of other logs behind them. In such cases, it was up to the "drivers" to skip across the shifting pile-up and try to free the key logs with their pike-poles, and then skip back out of danger to escape being caught in the break-up. Sometimes a jam would break too suddenly for them to get out of the way and they would be crushed to death or swept away and drowned.

Such an accident is described in this song, in which a young driver lost his life. It was collected in Ontario by edith Fulton Fowke.

Come all you young boys from the River
Come and Listen to me for a while
And I will relate you a story
Of my friend and kind chum, Johnny Doyle

Way up on the wild Moose River
By the side of the big jumbo dam
One morning while eating our breakfast
On the rocks we espied a great jam

As soon as we'd finished our breakfast
We were out on the head of the jam
Some of the boys took the pole trail
To break out the reservoir dam

We worked for an hour and a quarter
Our pick poles and pevies did pry
Not dreaming that one of our number
That day would so horribly die

"Ride her down, ride her down to the dead water"
So loudly our foreman did shout
Not a man in the gang who won't ride her
Not a man in the gang who'll back out

On the river there never was better
Than my friend and kind chum, Johnnie Doyle
As the logs came he always could roll them
And he never was reckless and wild

But this morning his luck was against him
His foot it got caught in the jam
And you know how these waters kept rolling
From the falls at the reservoir dam

We rode it down to dead water
The sweat down our bodies did pour
When we pulled his dead body from under
It looked like poor Johnny no more

His flesh it was torn into ribbons
Into pieces the size of your hand
On earth his dead body lies resting
May the lord take his soul in command

Fringue, Fringue, Sur La Rivière (folk song)

Jacque Labrecque: 1:24 [Track 5 side B] file: CFS712.mp3

Another popular canoe-paddling tune, this lively song borrows its story from an old French folk song that has no connection at all with the work of lumberjacks. Instead, it concerns a girl whose father hired three carpenters to build a fine house, and she fell in love with the youngest of the three. The same story is sung to a number of different tunes in Canada. This one, however, has a nonsense refrain that does apply to paddling, or rowing.

Hurlin' Down The Pine (folk song)

Tom Kines: 2:39 [Track 6 side B] file: CFS713.mp3

This is an excellent Newfoundland version of one of the favorite songs of woodsmen in both Canada and the United States. It describes the different jobs that have to be done in the lumbee camps, from chopping or sawing down the tall trees to hauling them down to the frozen river-side, to await the spring break-up of the ice, when they are able to float the logs down-river and rejoin the girls they haven't seen all winter. It also tells of the men getting up at 4 o'clock each morning to get their breakfast and start the day's work, and of how they help to pass their leisure hours away by singing and dancing before they get to bed each night.

This version of the song was collected by Kenneth Peacock.

C'Est L'Aviron

Raoul Roy: 2:32 [Track 7 side B] file: CFS714.mp3

This is another fine example of how a traditional folk song of France was made into an excellent work-song by Canadian "voyageurs" and woodsmen, who fited a rather curious medieval tale to a rousing tune and tacked on a "paddling" refrain to suit their needs. The story the song tells is about a young man who is riding along the road when he meets three pretty girls. He chooses the prettiest of them, lifts her up on his horse and rides off with her. No word is spoken until she asks for a drink, but when he stops at a brooklet, she refuses to drink. So he decides to take her home, and once there, she drinks "one glass after another" to toast her parents, her sisters, her brothers, and finally, her lover.

A short film illustrating this song was made by the National Film Board of Canada in 1944.

 

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