The Red Canoe

De win' is sleepin' in de pine, but O! de night is black!
An' all day long de loon bird cry on Lac Wayagamack,
No light is shinin' by de shore for helpin' steer heem t'roo
W'en out upon de night, Ubalde he tak' de red canoe.

I hear de paddle dip, dip, dip! wance more I hear de loon,
I feel de breeze was show de way for storm dat 's comin' soon,
An' den de sky fly open wit' de lightning splittin' t'roo,
An' 'way beyon' de point I see de leetle red canoe.

It 's dark again, but lissen how across Wayagamack
De tonder 's roarin' loud,an' now de mountains answer back,
I wonder wit' de noise lak dat, he hear me, le bon Dieu
W'en on ma knee I ax Heem save de leetle red canoe!

Is dat a voice, so far away, it die upon ma hear?
Or only win' was foolin' me, an' w'isperin' "Belzemire?"
Yaas, yaas, Ubalde, your Belzemire she 's prayin' hard for you,
An' den again de lightning come, but w'ere 's de red canoe?

Dey say I 'm mad, dem foolish folk, cos w'en de night is black
An' w'en de wave lak snow-dreef come on Lac Wayagamack
I tak' de place w'ere long ago we use to sit, us two,
An' wait until de lightning bring de leetle red canoe.

William Henry Drummond

William Henry Drummond was a Canadian poet, best known for his humor-filled verse that captured the dialect and lifestyle of French Canadian habitants. Born on April 13, 1854, in Ireland, he immigrated to Canada during his childhood. Drummond pursued a career in medicine but garnered fame for his poetry, which was rich with character and wit. He passed away on April 6, 1907, leaving behind a cherished legacy in Canadian literature.

William Henry Drummond

Poleon Dore

William Henry Drummond, Simple Poetry

De Habitant

William Henry Drummond, Simple Poetry

Mon Choual "Castor"

William Henry Drummond, Simple Poetry

This Life Which Seems So Fair

William Henry Drummond, Simple Poetry

English

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Phil-O-Rum's Canoe

O Ma ole canoe! w'at's matter wit' you, an' w'y was you be so slow?
Don 't I work hard enough on de paddle, an' still you don 't seem to go,
No win' at all on de fronte side, an' current she don 't be strong,
Den w'y are you lak lazy feller, too sleepy for move along?

"I 'member de tam w'en you jomp de sam' as deer wit' de wolf behin'
An' brochet on d top de water, you scare heem mos' off hees min';
But fish don 't care for you now at all, only jus' mebbe wink de eye,
For he know it 's easy get out de way w'en you was a passin' by."

I 'm spikin' dis way de oder day w'en I 'm out wit'de ole canoe,
Crossin' de point w'ere I see las' fall wan very beeg caribou,
W'en somebody say, "Phil-o-rum, mon vieux, wat's matter wit' you youse'f?"
An' who do you s'pose was talkin'? w'y de...

William Henry Drummond

Leetle Lac Grenier

Leetle Lac Grenier, she 's all alone,
Right on de mountain top,
But cloud sweepin' by, will fin' tam to stop
No matter how quickly he want to go,
So he'll kiss leetle Grenier down below.

Leetle Lac Grenier, she 's all alone,
Up on de mountain high
But she never feel lonesome, 'cos for w'y?
So soon as de winter was gone away
De bird come again an' sing to her ev'ry day.

Leetle Lac Grenier, she 's all alone,
Back on de mountain dere,
But de pine tree an' spruce stan' ev'rywhere
Along by de shore, an' mak' her warm
For dey kip off de win' an' de winter storm.

Leetle Lac Grenier, she 's all alone,
No broder, no sister near,
But de swallow will fly, an' de beeg moose deer
An' caribou too, will go long way
To drink de sweet water on ...

William Henry Drummond

Johnnie's First Moose

De cloud is hide de moon, but dere's plain-tee light above,
Steady Johnnie, steady,kip your head down low,
Move de paddle leetle quicker, an' de ole canoe we'll shove
T'roo de water nice an' quiet
For de place we're goin' try it
Is beyon' de silver birch dere
You can see it lak a church dere
W'en we're passin' on de corner w'ere de lilly flower grow.

Was n't dat correc' w'at I'm tolin' you jus now?
Steady Johnnie, steady,kip your head down low,
Never min', I'll watch behin', me , an' you can watch de bow
An' you'll see a leetle clearer
W'en canoe is comin' nearer,
Dere she is,now easy, easy,
For de win' is gettin' breezy,
An' we don't want not'ing smell us, till de horn begin to blow,

I remember long ago w'en ma fader tak' me out,
Steady Johnn...

William Henry Drummond

The Wreck Of The Julie Plante

On wan dark night on Lac St. Pierre,
De win' she blow, blow, blow,
An' de crew of de wood scow "Julie Plante"
Got scar't an' run below
For de win' she blow lak hurricane,
Bimeby she blow some more,
An' de scow bus' up on Lac St. Pierre
Wan arpent from de shore.
De captinne walk on de fronte deck,
An' walk de hin' deck too
He call de crew from up de hole,
He call de cook also.
De cook she 's name was Rosie,
She come from Montreal,
Was chambre maid on lumber barge,
On de Grande Lachine Canal.
De win' she blow from nor' -eas' -wes',
De sout' win' she blow too,
W'en Rosie cry, "Mon cher captinne,
Mon cher, w'at I shall do ?"
Den de captinne t'row de beeg ankerre,
But still de scow she dreef,
De crew he can't pass on de shore,
Bec...

William Henry Drummond

The Log Jam

Dere 'a s beeg jam up de reever, w'ere rapide is runnin' fas',
An' de log we cut las' winter is takin' it all de room;
So boss of de gang is swearin', for not'ing at all can pass
An' float away down de current till somebody break de boom.
"Here 's for de man will tak' de job, holiday for a week
Extra monee w'en pay day come, an' ten dollar suit of clothes.
'T is n't so hard work run de log, if only you do it quick,
W'ere 's de man of de gang den is ready to say, ` Here goes?'"
Dere was de job for a feller, handy an' young an' smart,
Willin' to tak' hees chances, willin' to risk hees life.
'Cos many a t'ing is safer, dan tryin' de boom to start,
For if de log wance ketch you, dey 're cuttin' you lak a knife.
Aleck Lachance he lissen, an' answer heem right away
"Marie Louise d...

William Henry Drummond

Ole Tam On Bord-A-Plouffe

I lak on summer ev'ning, w'en nice cool win' is blowin'
An' up above ma head, I hear de pigeon on de roof,
To bring ma chair an' sit dere, an' watch de current flowin'
Of ole Riviere des Prairies as she pass de Bord-a Plouffe.

But it seem dead place for sure now, on shore down by de lan'in',
No more de voyageurs is sing lak dey was sing alway,
De tree dey're commence growin' w'ere shaintee once is stan'in',
An' no one scare de swallow w'en she fly across de bay.

I don't lak see de reever she's never doin' not'in'
But passin' empty ev'ry day on Bout de l'ile below,
Ma ole shaloup dat's lyin' wit' all its timber rottin'
An' tam so change on Bord-a Plouffe since forty year ago!

De ice dat freeze on winter, might jus' as well be stay dere,
For w'en de spring sh...

William Henry Drummond