Secord's Warning
Joe Grant and Steve Ritchie
Come all you brave young soldier lads
With your strong and manly bearing
I'll tell you a tale of a woman bold and her deed of honest daring
Laura Secord was American-born in the state of Massachusets
But she made her home in Canada and proved so faithful to us
Chorus
There's American guns and 500 men
So the warning must be given
And Laura Ingersoll Secord was the stalwart heart
Who braved the heat and the flies and the swamp
To warn Colonel Fitzgibbon
There's soldiers pounding at the door
And they come from across the border
American officers march inside
It's food and drink they've ordered
In comfort they have dined and drunk
Their own success they've toasted
But they pay no heed to the woman who hears their plan so idly boasted
Chorus
Oh, James I've overheard it all
A surprise attack they're making
Fitzgibbon they intend to smash
His men for prisoners taking
And James a warning never you'll take with your wounded knee and shoulder
I myself must carry it past the sentries and the soldiers
Chorus
It's an all-day tramp to the British camp
By way of Shipman's Corners
There're snakes and flies and sweat in her eyes
There is no respite for her
She's lost her shoes in the muck of the bog
Her feet are torn and blistered
But there's many a soldier lad to be spared if the message be delivered
Chorus
So all you Yankee soldier lads who dare to cross our border
Thinking to save us from ourselves
Usurping British order
There's women and men Canadians all
Of every rank and station
To stand on guard and keep us free
From Yankee domination
Chorus
Seven a Side
Rob Ritchie
Halfway through the final frame the Avons thought they'd won,
with Stratford leading Wiarton by a score of three to one.
With Kettlebourne, McCardle and Berger all in charge,
and Malone outstanding in his net the task seemed far too large.
Now Wiarton had their gamers, their Simmies and their Meiers,
but time was running down so fast they'd need to get inspired.
They'd need to be persistent, they'd need to be set loose,
they'd need to use the tactics they'd perfected on the Bruce
Chorus
The defensemen were steady, the wings they played out wide.
They charged as one into the fray to battle seven a-side.
In desperation they pressed on for more,
they wanted to show them the boys from the Bruce knew the score.
Now Wesley Ashley captained, he led the team in goals.
He led the prayer before each game, he was their heart and soul.
The pros would come a-courting, the ice-blood in his veins,
But timber barons and gambling men he thought them all the same
Cigar-chompin' talkers, promising their fruits -
Wesley never bit the apple cause his game was on the Bruce.
He'd played his life in Wiarton, dreaming for this win,
So for the rally to continue it was surely up to him.
Chorus
With all due respect to you people of vision,
To those with a calling, to those with a mission,
The game's like religion the passion's so strong
Where the rivers freeze early in winters so cold and so long.
With nerves cold as steel blades and forwards free to roam,
Earl Meier's wrister found the strings behind Malone.
Then Billie Bean flew through the air as the tying shot was fired,
But Mabel that was nothing to the scene that next transpired!
Seconds left for victory, throwing off reserve,
Ashley screamed the battle cry and Simmie led the surge.
He stripped the puck from Kettlebourne and played him for the knave,
For Malone was unexpectant, and he had no chance to save.
The defensemen were steady, the wings they played out wide.
They charged as one into the fray to battle seven a-side.
In desperation they pressed on for more.
They wanted to show them, the boys knew the score.
The defensemen were steady, the wings they played out wide.
They charged as one into the fray to battle seven a-side.
In desperation they pressed on for more.
The boys tasted victory; the boys from the Bruce knew the score!
One More Night
Joe Grant and Elizabeth Szekeres
In the fall of 1883 I had just one more load
Of coal for the Cornish Jacks in the Silver Islet Mine
Beneath the icy waves they picked and hacked at the silver caves
The coal fires kept them dry.
And I never once did think that just a couple drinks could cause that mine
to die.
For 17 good years I've been a faithful captain here always had an eye for
the weather
And it's an easy thing to say, if you're looking for someone to blame
That the captain should have known better
And everyone still thinks that the captain's love of drink is why that silver
mine died.
Chorus
I could hear the voice of gin whisper in my ear
Or maybe it was Sally saying "Who's the captain here?
The Tuttle is your ship, and you surely have the right
To set the time of sail, and to stay here where it's warm
One More Night.
The captain of my ship and the master of my pride
but still there's an undertow in every sailor's mind
And the blue of Sally's eyes and the warmth of her thighs
Spoke to me in terms that could not be denied
I turned my back on the lake, thinking she would wait
and give me a little more time.
With gin and love half-crazed we'd lain there for three days
When I staggered to the window to catch a breath of air
I remember Sally laughed as an icy winter blast
Caught me in the face and snapped back my hair
And one thought filled my head, as I fell back on the bed
that silver mine's gonna die.
Chorus
We stoked the boilers hot, but the Tuttle she was caught
No way to get the lake to change her stubborn mind
There was no way to entice that wretched winter ice
To leave a channel open to the Silver Islet Mine
With no coal to fire the pumps, in November all at once
The lake had drowned that mine.
In the fall of 1883, just one more load of coal would have saved the Silver
Islet Mine
Now I know that I'm to blame, and I must bear the shame
But try to understand the nature of my crime
I was unfaithful to the lake, she raged at my mistake she wanted that mine
to die.
Chorus
Chorus
Keppel Township Love
Song
Joe Grant
The hour was well past nine when at last I did recline
Watched my sweet Kathleen combing down her long brown hair
Putting me in mind of a dear old gentle time
When first we were together and alone
Kathleen, Kathleen do you mind how long it's been
Since first we cleared the land and built our home
Chorus
These fields are full of rock and the season is too short
Sometimes it seems there's naught but toil and labour
Yet there's joy enough to share though the times be lean and spare
Laughter like a flowing cup we'll savour
The hour was close to ten when at last we spoke again
Words as gentle as a summer rain
She called me by a name she had used when we were young
Before the land had robbed me of my time
Kathleen, Kathleen the years have come between
To steal away the lightness that was mine
Chorus
Keppel Township has her charms but for them that try to farm
The Slough of Despond is never far away
Kathleen, Kathleen how constant you have been
To keep us gently on the hopeful way
Kathleen, Kathleen do you mind how long it's been
Since first wewere together and alone
Chorus
Dollar Bill
Dawn Callan and Joe Grant
Chorus
Down to the river booze on the run
Here's Dollar Bill with his old shot gun
Jiggin' with the law, jugglin' the pay
Make a lot of money and give it all away
Chorus
It's a Prohibition winter, the town is cold and dry
Along comes William Allen with a twinkle in his eye
He's got a place by the river you can drink away the chill
Just bang on the aircraft hangar and ask for Dollar Bill
Chorus
Chorus
The Hangar's hot as Hades, the boiler's stoked with wood
The rafters ring with laughter but it's always understood
If you're getting out of hand proving you're a man, drinking the booze you
bought
You'll hear from Billy's 12-guage, 'cause it's Bill who calls the shots
Chorus
Chorus
The Cataraqui River is where he hides his gin
Wearing women's pantaloons not meant for swimming in
No matter if you laugh he don't care what you think
Billy's got his reasons for those frilly underthings
Chorus
Chorus
There's a remedy in Billy's heart for a town that's cold and dry
Coats and hats for the village kids his revnues will buy
Ill-gotten gain and good things come from Billy's still
Not a dollar for himself, the man called Dollar Bill
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
McCurdy's
Boy
Rob Ritchie
Mr. Bell, he had a passion to be the one to tame the sky
A motor kite he wished to fashion, a Silver Dart to pierce the sky
Four young men with like ambition he hired to take the challenge on
Three with engineer's vocations, the fourth his local agent's son.
Chorus
McCurdy's Boy was always keen to fly
A drop or two of Scotch would do to keep his spirits high
McCurdy's boy was always keen to fly
McCurdy's son would be the one to climb into Cape Breton's skies
The time drew near and - so exciting - Lake Bras D'or would be the site
The frozen bay looked so inviting to watch his lofty dreams take flight
Mr. Bell he had a notion to make the day superlative
Not adverse to good promotion, a local boy the flight he'd give
Chorus
Bell could see the townsfolk gather, some to cheer and some to scoff
And some to lay a friendly wager if the lad could pull it off
Mrs. Bell, who watched the business, feared the plan had gone too far
Risking all her husband's interests on a pilot prone to crashing cars
Chorus
McCurdy's Boy sat in the cockpit; McCurdy's boy looked somewhat pale
McCurdy's Boy raced down the shoreline...
Scratched his beard in satisfaction, Bell observed from in his sled.
His wife beside jumped up with laughter, dreams of patents in her head.
Chorus
Old Broken Soldier
Joe Grant and Steve Ritchie
Eileen McQueen can you tell me
how long it's been since I left for the war
How long it's been since you held me
Promising love for rich or for poor
For better or worse, we said we'd be true
Now I'm back and the bloody war's through
Eileen McQueen I can't tell you
How cold it feels when the battle is done
How bitter the taste of the powder
How empty the face of a comrade cut down
For better or worse we believed it was true
For King and for country: how little we knew
Chorus
So lay me down on a deep feather bed
Hold me close and cradle my head
I'm an Old Broken Soldier back from the war
And the way we once loved, I can't love no more
So lay me down on a deep feather bed
Let me taste the sweet of your breath
Your voice is so soft and your words so sweet
So just lay me down and sing me to sleep
Eileen McQueen was I dreaming?
I heard you say it was just like before
I looked in your eyes they were gleaming
With tears of delight, promising more
Of the pleasure we knew every night, every day
Till the bloody war came and took it away
Chorus
There's A Bit of That Goes
On
Steve Ritchie, Joe Grant, Al Parrish and Terry Young
Out here in the country we're on the party line
I could eaves drop on my neighbours
But of course I'm not inclined
To stick my nose in business
Where business I have not
There's a bit of that goes on 'round here and I do mean a lot
To stick my nose in business
Where business I have not
Well maybe just a little when the gossip on the line gets hot
Chorus
There's a bit of that goes on
There's a bit of that goes on
There's a bit of that goes on 'round here
And I do mean a lot
Aunt Edna thought her husband
T-totaled well as she
But when uncle Robert died
Came a strange discovery
Twenty dozen bottles in the rafters of his shop
There's a bit of that goes on 'round here and I do mean a lot
Twenty dozen bottles in the rafters of his shop
That's quite a lot of empties for a man who never touched a drop
Chorus
He's a talker and a dresser that man from Fuller Brush
He always makes the ladies smile and sometimes makes them blush
He tells his wife it's harmless camaraderie and talk
There's a bit of that goes on 'round here and I do mean a lot
He tells his wife it's harmless camaraderie and talk
He'll always be a faithful man until the day that he gets caught
Chorus
Round here our politicians are diligent and true
They'd never bend a bylaw just to push a favour through
It really doesn't matter which party is on top
There's a bit of that goes on 'round here and I do mean a lot
It really doesn't matter which party is on top
You can tell which riding voted wrong 'cause that is where the snowplow stops
Chorus
Awkward Donald
Dawn Callan, Joe Grant, Al Parrish, Steve Ritchie
Awkward Donald ripped his trousers chasing home the brindled cow
Shrewd young Catherine caught his measure, sowed him up with a wedding vow
Catherine works with thread and needle, Donald hides down in the hay
Asks him if he wants to marry, words that he's to shy to say
A woolen suit and thigh-high gumboots, Donald leaves his shoes at home
Hoping they will keep their squeak for dancing when the preaching's done
Awkward Donald's at the altar, in his pocket there's a hole
Catherine searching for the ring pulls off his boot and out it rolls
Chorus
Catherine would you do it again, fall in love with an awkward man?
Catherine would you do it again, fall in love with an awkward man?
Catherine would you do it again, fall in love with an awkward man?
Catherine would you do it again, fall in love with an awkward man?
The dancing's done, the keg is bunged, the newly-weds have gone aloft
Awkward Donald moves to quickly,
Suddenly he finds he's caught his foot in Catherine's nightgown pocket
One more time with good intention
Catherine tries to circumvent poor Awkward's misdirection
Chorus
Awkward Donald ripped his trousers chasing home the brindled cow
Shrewd young Catherine caught his measure, they've got seven children now
Awkward Donald trips and stumbles when he's standing on his feet
But he's learned to thread the needle late at night between the sheets
Chorus
Traighli Bay
Al Parrish
It was June and it was hot, when on board the ship we got
With shot and powder for the guns and a hogshead full of rum
And salt cod to last until the winter squalls
We made for the southwest where the hunting would be best
Where the Spanish ships of trade down with Aztec silver laden
Were the fairest game for gentlemen of fortune
Chorus
And with tar on our pigtails and blood on our rapiers
We'll fly the skull and crossbones and by God we'll take no prisoners
It's hiho away boys, we'll sail from Traighli Bay boys
Hoist the Jolly Roger at the break of day
From up the crowsnest then, called the third mate, Mr. Flynn
"Set the course and hold 'er steady and for action make 'er ready
There's a Spanish merchant off the starbord bow"
We raised the black flag high, fast the Spaniard turned to fly
We followed in her wake until we could overtake
And dismasted her with chain from cannon fired
Chorus
We pulled up alongside with our grappling hooks and lines
Guns and cutlasses in hand on the gunwales we did stand
Every hand from the Captain to the cabin boy
Saw three dead the chains had flayed, then we raised and crossed our blades
To their mates we gave our best as the sun set in the west
With pikes and swords, pistols, fists and feet
Chorus
From the darkness till the dawn as the battle raged on
We fought with manly fitness as we meant to leave no witness
We lost Mr. Flynn and one leg from the cabin boy
But with their treasure we retired and we set a canvas fire
Left her sinking to the deep where their silent bones will sleep
And we forged a leg of gold for the cabin boy
Chorus
It was August and still warm when to Traighli we returned
Fifty-eight days on the main and we've no need to sail again
We've gold and silver more than we could spend
Now half a century has passed and of that crew I am the last
Fifty years I've roamed these docks and when I get a chance to talk
I tell of how I got this golden leg.
Chorus
Fire and Guns
Joe Grant
Fire and Guns; revolution; New York this my last good-bye
Tonight I left it all behind for Upper Canada
Forest night; fire light; smoke filled eyes that want to cry
Tonight I left it all behind for Upper Canada
Chorus
Watch your footsteps, don't fall in the forest
Keep your head down and don't make a sound
Watch your footsteps, don't fall in the forest
Keep your head down and don't make a sound
Watch your footsteps, don't fall in the forest
Keep your head down and don't make a sound
Keep on runnin', keep on runnin', keep your head down and don't make a sound
Keep on runnin', keep on runnin', keep your head down and don't make a sound
I had some friends, I trusted them just when life was full and sweet
I heard the drums and the marching feet; turned us into enemies
Split us like an iron spike, tore our hearts, ripped our lives apart
"God Save The King": such a simple thing. Burned our homes took everything
Chorus
Fire and Guns; confusion; New York this my last good-bye
Tonight I left it all behind for Upper Canada
Tonight I left old friends behind
Didn't even say, "Good-bye"
Crashin' Down
Joe Grant
I'm an ordinary man
Do the books for the firm of Dudley & Rattan
Not the kind you find on a late night train
Traveling hard with one intent
To settle up with Gamblin' Jack McGann
Jack he hurt me bad
He stole the only love I ever had
To me she was a precious thing
To him just another easy win
Suited him fine to think it might drive me mad
Chorus
Love is a mountain, hate is a drivin' wheel
On a cold steel rail
Comes a time in your life in the dead of night
When the mountain comes crashin' down
Crashin' down
They ran off to the town of Frank
When you hurt so much it's whiskey you thank
For the way it dilutes the pain
Steadies your nerves on the late night train
God only knows how much I drank
Train came to a stop
Somebody flagged 'er down said the track was blocked
Told of a terrible mountain slide
Said half of the town of Frank had died
Buried beneath a million tons of rock
Chorus
My love Amelia Jane
They say the rock came down like a drivin' rain
Had you begun to shun his charms
When the mountain crushed you in his arms
With your dying breath did you whisper someone else's name?
A gambler's got the knack
To smile in your face as he stabs you in the back
Was it fate or the hand of God
Or just bad luck that I was robbed
Of the chance to pay the gambler back?
Chorus
Radio Man
Joe Grant and Al Parrish
Radioman, won't you come and fix my radio
My dad was a farmer, used to sing off-key
First thing I done when he give the farm to me
Bought a Dreadnought series, three-band dial
Queen Mary model in the latest style
Bought home that majestic radio set
Put it in the stable, tryin' to get
A few more dollars in the old cream cheque
Chorus
Radioman won't you come and fix my radio
Nights are gettin' long here in Holstein, Ontario
Radioman come and fix my radio
Music in the stable, the girls went crazy
Betsie and Bossie and especially Daisy
Steppin round her stall like a spry young heifer
When she heard the violin played by Don Messer
And the tired old bull, well he likes the sports
He's a Maple Leaf fan, he just paws and snorts
Whenever Foster Hewitt yells He shoots, he scores!
Chorus
Late last November, just my luck
Mice got in the radio, the dial got stuck
Every night it's the same frustration
All I can get is that American station
Chorus
American sports, American news
The herd must like it 'cos the cream cheque's huge
But I think my girls are gettin' the wrong point of view
Chorus
Now my radio's all fixed up, it's zed instead of zee
'Cos we're back listening to the CBC
The girls may complain, but I just ignore 'em
They've got to learn that American is foreign!
Although sometimes even I have to wince
Been having second thoughts in the days ever since
I heard There'll Always Be an England
By the Dionne quints!
Chorus
La V'la M'amie
Traditional Voyaguer Song
Arrangement: Joe Grant, Steve Ritchie, Al Parrish and Bob Wagar
M'en revenant de la jolie Rochelle
J'ai rencontre trois jolies demoiselles
Chorus
La V'la M'amie que j'aime, j'aime, j'aime, La V'la M'amie que j'aime
La V'la M'amie que j'aime, j'aime, j'aime, La V'la M'amie que j'aime
J'ai point choisi, mais j'ai pris la plus belle
Chorus
J'l'y fis monter derriere moi sur ma selle
Chorus
J'y fis cent lieu sans parler avec elle
Chorus