Canadian Folk Songs Centennial Collection
Part 8 of 9:
Miscellaneous work songs
This record supplements the Volume 7 of this Series— "Songs and Ballads of the Lumber Camps"— and includes one or two canoe-paddling tunes, a few sea-shanties and other songs of the spinning, weaving, wool-shrinking, railroad-building, gold-mining, and a few assorted other occupations.
Homeward Bound (folk song)
Alan Mills & Group; 1:34 [Track 1, side A] file: CFS801.mp3
This is a Nova Scotian variant of a universally popular sea-shanty, though it actually varies little from most other versions of the song, except for its mention of Halifax as the home port of the sailors involved.
To Halifax town we'll bid adieu, 2. The wind blows hard from the east nor-east, 3. And should we touch at Malabar, 4. And now our three years it is out, |
5. And now we'll haul into the docks, 6. And now we'll haul to the "Dog and Bell," 7. But when our money's all gone and spent, |
Je Le Mène Bien, Mon Dévidoir (folk song)
Louise forestier; 2:24 [Track 2, side A] file: CFS802.mp3
On of the most popular spinning and weaving songs of French-Canada, this lively ditty— like so many other songs of French-speaking Canadians— borrows its story from a traditional folk song of France. It tells of a girl whose father sends her off to sea, and of a sailor who falls in love with her. But when he asks her for a kiss, she refuses, fearing that birds would report her misbehavior to her father and she would be punished. And though the sailor tries to assure her that birds can't speak, she is convinced that they speak both French and Latin, whereupon the sailor gives up in disgust.
The same story is recorded to a completely different tune as Mon Père N'Avait Fille Que Moi in Volume 5 of this Series.
Mon père n'avait fille que moi,) Encore sur la mer il m'envoi', ) Le marinier qui m'y menait, ) Il devint amoureux de moi, ) Ma mignonnette, embrassez-moi,) Nenni, Monsieur, je n'oserais, ) |
Car si mon papa le savait, ) Fille battue, ce serait moi, ) Mais qui, la bell', le lui dirait? ) Ce serait les oiseaux des bois, ) Les oiseaux des bois parlent-ils?) Ils parl'ent français, latin aussi,) Hélas! Que le monde est malin,)
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Haul On The Bowline (folk song)
Charles Jordan; 1:11 [Track 3, side A] file: CFS803.mp3
Another widely known sea-shanty that has been a favorite of sailors the world over, this song was sometimes used as a "hauling" song on land, as well as at sea. During the middle of the 18th Century, Newfoundland fishermen and other workers sang it to lighten their labors as they hauled great blocks of stone for the building of the Catholic cathedral in St. John's.
Haul the bowlin',the skipper he's a-growlin', Haul the bowlin', so early in the morning, Haul the bowlin', the chief mate he's a-growlin' Haul the bowlin', the wind it is a-howlin' |
Haul the bowlin', the ship she is a-rollin' Haul the bowlin', the fore and maintop bowlin' Haul the bowlin', to London we are goin', Haul the bowlin', the main-topgallant bowlin',
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Partons, La Mer Est Belle (folk song)
Jacques Labrecque; 3:03 [Track 4, side A] file: CFS804.mp3
Songs of sea-tragedies are common among Canada's fishermen, as they are among all people who gain their livelihood from the sea. One of the favorites in the old Acadian region of eastern Canada is this tender song, which tells he sad tale of a fisherman who lost his life when his boat was capized in one of the sudden squalls that occasionally whip up he Gulf of St. Lawrence and in some of the deep bays of the Atlantic coast.
Amis, partons sans bruit; REFRAIN: |
Ainsi chantait mon père REFRAIN Je n'ai plus que ma mère
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The Honest Working Man (folk song)
Diane Oxner; 3:05 [Track 5, side A] file: CFS805.mp3
This is an amusing complaint song that comes from the picturesque Nova Scotian island of Cape Breton, "where they knit the socks and mittens," and it deplores the hard lot of the "honest working man", who may manage to get along on outside labor during the summer months, but who scarcely earns enough in winer "to keep a sickly hen".
The song also complains of Newfoundlanders moving into Cape Breton, and of "railroad wrackers" (builders?) and "codfish packers" who "steal the food and crackers from the honest working man". Oddly enough, however, no mention is made of the sad state of Cape Breton's dwindling coal-mining industry.
Way down in East Cape Breton, What raises high my dander, When leaves fall in the autumn, Way down in East Cape Breton, |
The man who mixes mortar, They cross the Bay of Fundy, Way down in East Cape Breton,
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Les Voyageurs De La Gatineau (folk song)
Raoul Roy ; 2:00 [Track 6 side A] file: CFS806.mp3 (folk song)
Unlike an almost similarly-titled canoe-paddling song Les 'draveurs' de la Gatineau which is recorded in Volume 7 of this series, this is a complaint song, in which a woodsman regrets wasting his youth in taverns and working in the lumber-camps, and vows to give up that hard life and "make something of himself", so that he might settle down and take proper care of his wife. Nous partîmes pour un voyage en canot sur la Gatineau Quand nous fûmes dessus ses rives de lacs en lacs jusqu'au camp Nous partîmes pour un voyage en canot sur la Gatineau Quand nous fûmes dessus ses rives de lacs en lacs jusqu'au camp
Plus souvent les pieds par terre et la charge dessus le dos
Là, pensions à notre jeune âge qu'on avait si mal passé
À courir dans les auberges, notre argent avions dépensé
C'est ici qu'on est destiné à bâtir mes chers enfants
À bâtir une cabane ce qu'on appelle un chantier
Un chantier fait d'épinettes en bois rond non pas carré
Plus souvent les pieds par terre et la charge dessus le dos
Là, pensions à notre jeune âge qu'on avait si mal passé
À courir dans les auberges, notre argent avions dépensé
C'est ici qu'on est destiné à bâtir mes chers enfants
À bâtir une cabane ce qu'on appelle un chantier
Un chantier fait d'épinettes en bois rond non pas carré
The Old Polina (folk song)
Charles Jordan; 2:01 [Track 7, side A] file: CFS807.mp3 (folk song)
This popular Newfoundland sea song pays rousing tribute to an unbeatable whaling ship that outran all her competitors in a race across the Atlantic from Dundee, Scotland, to St. John's, Nfld. "Polina" is believed to be a corruption of "Polynia", which was the name of a 19th Century vessel that spent the summer months whaling in the north Atlantic, and plied the seal fishery off Newfoundland's coasts during the winter season, until the ship was lost in the Straits of Belle Isle in 1884. There's a noble fleet of whalers a-sailing from Dundee, 'Twas the second Sunday morning, just after leaving port, CHORUS: Art Jackson set his canvas, Fairweather got up steam, There's the noble Terra Nova, a model without doubt. And now we're back in old St. John's where rum is very cheap.
Manned by British sailors to take them o'er the sea.
On a western ocean passage we started on the trip.
We flew along just like a song in our gallant whaling ship.
We met a heavy Sou'west gale that washed away our boat.
It washed away our quarterdeck, our stanchions just as well,
And so we sent the whole shebang a-floating in the gale.
For the wind was on her quarter and the engine's working free.
There's not another whaler that sails the Arctic Sea,
Can beat the Old Polina, you need not try, my sons,
For we challenged all both great and small from Dundee to St. John's.
But Captain Guy, the daring boy, came plunging through the stream.
And Mullins in the Husky tried to beat the blooming lot,
But to beat the Old Polina was something he could not.
The Arctic and Aurora they talk so much about.
Art Jackman's model mailboat, the terror of the sea,
Tried to beat the Old Polina on a passage from Dundee.
So we'll drink a health to Captain Guy who brought us o'er the deep.
A health to all our sweethearts and to our wives so fair.
Not another ship could make the trip but the Polina I declare.
La Plume Qui S'Envole (folk song)
Hélène Baillargeon, Alan Mills; 1:16 [Track 8, side A] file: CFS808.mp3
This pert little song tells the sotry of a young man who tries to entice a pretty sheperdess to leave her flock and work for him. When she says she'll have to ask her mother's permission before going to work for any man, the gentleman scoffs at her. "Silly girl!"— he says. "Men aren't bad!" "That's possible", replies the girl. "Not bad, perhaps, but dangerous!"
La Laine De Nos Moutons (folk song)
Hélène Baillargeon, Group; 1:42 [Track 1, side B] file: CFS809.mp3
This charming work-song which came to Canada from the French province of Auvergne, is also popular as an "action" or "play" song for children. It deals with he various stages of producing woolen cloth, from shearing the raw material, washing it, carding, spinning and weaving it into the cloth, and lastly, to selling the finished fabric.
The Old Chisholm Trail (folk song)
Charles Jordan; 2:07 [Track 2, side B] file: CFS810.mp3
This is one of the many popular American cowboy songs that found their way to Canada's west during the early settlement days of the late 19th Century, when most of the cattle for the new ranches were brought up from Texas, about two thousand miles to the south, along the "old Chisholm Trail". After the long and arduous drive north, many of the American cowboys found work on Canadian cattle-ranches, and it was only natural that the songs they brought with them should eventually take root in Canada's western soil. This one is being "the best cowboy that ever roped cattle"— swears he's fed up with the daily diet of "bacon and beans" and the little pay he gets for the strenuous work of "a-ropin' and a-tyin' and a-brandin'" cattle all day.
Well, come along boys and listen to my tale I started up the trail October twenty-third On a ten dollar horse and a forty dollar saddle With my seat in the saddle and my hand on the horn It's cloudy in the west and lookin' like rain The wind began to blow and the rain began to fall No chaps, no slickers and it's pouring rain |
I cripple on my horse and I don't know how Well, I went to the boss to draw my roll Well, me and the boss we had a little spat The boss said to me, ''Well, I'll fire you I'll sell my horse, I'll sell my saddle Come a-ti yi youpy, youpy yea, youpy yea
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Fendez Le bois, Chauffez Le Four (folk song)
Yves Albert; 2:29 [Track 3, side B] file: CFS811.mp3
Although the verses of this charming song tell exactly the same story of a lover's quarrel as is found in the well-known romantic song, A la claire fontaine, recorded in Volume 4 of this Series, the melody is completely different, and the refrain— "Fendez le bois, chauffez le four, Dormez la belle, il n'est point jour" ("Cut the wood and heat the oven. Sleep, pretty one, it's not quite day") would seem to indicate that it may have been sung as a song for household chores, or even as a lullaby.
A la claire fontaine m'en allant promener REFRAIN: Sous les feuilles d'un chêne je me suis fait sécher Chante rossignol chante toi qui a le coeur gai |
J'ai perdu ma maîtresse sans l'avoir mérité Je voudrais que la rose fut encore au rosier |
Drill Ye Heroes! (folk song)
Tom Kines; 2:49 [Track 4, side B] file: CFS812.mp3
This rousing complaint song of Newfoundland railroad workers is patterned after the well-known American folk song— Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill!— though some of its verses, as well as the tune, have been regionalized to some extent. The complaints remain pretty much the same, however, and they refer to the general hardships of drilling a new railroad bed, as well as having to put up with bad food and little pay.
The song was collected by Kenneth Peacock, who regards it as "one of the best examples of musical onomatopoeia" he has ever run across in folk songs.
Now, my boys, I think it's time Sammy Grand was our boss man, It was at Codroy we pitched our tent, |
Our boss was a fine man all along, When poor John's pay day come around, In the morning at four the whistle will blow,
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Chanson De Foulon< (folk song)
Hélène Baillargeon; 1:35 [Track 5, side B] file: CFS813.mp3
Here is another fine example of how French-speaking settlers of Canada adapted a traditional folk song of the old world into a work-song of the new world. The story of the song concerns a girl who goes out to fetch some fresh water and falls into a brooklet. Along come three young "barons" who offer to rescue her if she will have them a kiss. "Pull me out first", cries the girl, "and then we'll see!" But then after they pull her out, she runs off home without rewarding them.
The work-song version given here was sung in French Canada to set the rythm for the group job of shrinking woollen cloth, as well as to help lessen the tedium of that monotonous work. The homespun cloth was dunked into a huge vat of soap and water, and a group of men and/or women, armed with long and sturdy sticks which they called "damoiselles", would stir away at the mixture as they walked around the vat in time with the song.
The Klondike Gold Rush (folk song)
Charles Jordan; 1:15 [Track 6, side B] file: CFS814.mp3
This short song gives little hint of the frenzy that followed the discovery of gold in Canada's northwest in 1896, when thousand of prospectors rushed to the Klondike from all over the world in search of the precious yellow metal. The stampede reached its peak in 1897-98, and petered out almost as quickly as it had begun. Some of the luckier prospectors "struck it rich" and became millionnaires almost overnight; many others died in attempting to reach the area.
But during the early days of the short-lived bonznza, gold was literally found in the mud that clung to men's boots, as the song states, and all some miners had to do was "scratch the surface" of the earth, shovel the gravel into a pan and wash it, to pick out nuggets worth hundreds of dollars.
The town of Moodyville, mentioned in the chorus of the song, was a small suberb of Vancouver at the time. It is now part of North Vancouver. The song was collected by Edith Fulton Fowke.
La Rose Blanche (folk song)
Despite its curious and rather dainty story, this version of an ancient French folk song was a favorite of Canada's hardy voyageurs as they paddled and portaged their canoes through the wilderness that once stretched from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains, to explore the territory and gather furs for the Hudson's Bay Company. The story concerns a girl who injures a leg while picking some white roses for her lover. A doctor is called, and he tells her the only way she can heal her leg is to bathe it in a gold and silver basin of warm water covered with rose petals.
Donkey Riding (folk song)
Alan Mills, Group; 2:12 [Track 8, side B] file: CFS816.mp3
This is an expanded version of a work song that used to be sung while loading lumber aboard ships in Canada's eastern ports, and it gets its title from the "donkey engines" that were used for the job. The tune of the song was adapted from an old Scottish Jacobite folk song called "Hieland Laddie", and its original verses were borrowed from various sea-shanties. The verses given in this version, which mention various regions of Canada, were written recently by Alan Mills.
Were you ever off the Horn Were you ever in Cardiff Bay Were you ever in Timbucktoo Were you ever in Vallipo |
Wuz ye ever down Mobile Bay Wuz ye ever in Canton Wuz ye ever in Mirramashee Wuz ye ever on the Broomielaw |