Two Hundred Years Ago

Two honder year ago, de worl' is purty slow
Even folk upon dis contree 's not so smart,
Den who is travel roun' an' look out de pleasan' groun'
For geev' de Yankee peop' a leetle start?
I 'll tole you who dey were! de beeg rough voyageurs,
W'it deir cousin w'at you call coureurs de bois,
Dat 's fightin' all de tam, an' never care a dam,
An' ev'ry wan dem feller he 's come from Canadaw
Baptême!
He 's comin' all de way from Canadaw.

But He watch dem, le bon Dieu, for He'sgot some work to do,
An He won't trus' ev'ry body, no siree!
Only full blood Canadien, lak Marquette an' Hennepin,
An' w'at you t'ink of Louis Verandrye?

On church of Bonsecours! makin' ready for de tour,
See dem down upon de knee, all prayin' dere,
Wit' de paddle on de han' ev'rygood Canadien man,
An' affer dey be finish, hooraw for anyw'ere
Yass, sir!
Dey 're ready now for goin' anyw'ere.

De nort' win' know dem well, an' de prairie grass can tell
How offen it is trample by the ole tam botte sauvage,
An'grey wolf on hees den kip very quiet, w'en
He hear dem boy a' singin' upon de long portage.
An' de night would fin' dem lie wit' deir faces on de sky,
An' de breeze would come an' w' isper on deir ear
'Bout de wife an' sweetheart dere on Sorel an' Trois Rivieres
Dey may never leev' to see anoder year
Dat 's true,
Dey may never leev' to kiss anoder year.

An' you 'll know de place dey go, from de canyon down below,
Or de mountain wit' hees nose aboeve de cloud,
De lake among de hill, w'ere de grizzly drink hees fill
Or de rapid on de reever roarin' loud;
Ax de wil' deer if de flash of de ole Tree Reever sash
He don'tsee it on de woods of Illinois
An' de musk ox as he go, w'ere de camp fire melt de snow,
De smell he still remember of tabac Canadien
Ha! Ha!
It 's hard forgettin' smell of tabac Canadien!

So, ma frien' , de Yankee man, he mus' try an' understan'
W'en he holler for dat flag de Star an' Stripe,
If he 's leetle win' still lef', an' no danger hurt hese'f,
Den he better geev' anoder cheer, ba cripe!
For de flag of la belle France, dat show de way across
From Louisbourg to Florida an' back;
So raise it ev'ryw'ere, lak' de ole tam voyageurs,
W'en you hear of de la Salle an'
Cadillac-Hooraw!
For de flag of de la Salle an' Cadillac.

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

De Habitant

William Henry Drummond, Simple Poetry

Mon Choual "Castor"

William Henry Drummond, Simple Poetry

Johnnie Courteau

William Henry Drummond, Simple Poetry

M'Sieu Smit

William Henry Drummond, Simple Poetry

English

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The Habitants Jubilee Ode

I read on de paper mos' ev'ry day, all about Jubilee
An' grande procession movin' along, an' passin' across de sea,
Dat's chil'ren of Queen Victoriaw comin' from far away
For tole Madame w'at dey t'ink of her, an' wishin' her bonne santé.

An' if any wan want to know pourquoi les Canayens should be dere
Wit' res' of de worl' for shout "Hooraw" an' t'row hees cap on de air,
Purty quick I will tole heem de reason, w'y we feel lak de oder do,
For if I'm only poor habitant, I'm not on de sapré fou.

Of course w'en we t'ink it de firs' go off, I know very strange it seem
For fader of us dey was offen die for flag of L'Ancien Regime,
From day w'en de voyageurs come out all de way from ole St. Malo,
Flyin' dat flag from de mas' above, an' long affer dat also.

De English ...

William Henry Drummond

National Policy

Oor fader lef' ole France behin', dat's many year ago,
An' how we get along since den, wall! ev'ry body know,
Few t'ousan' firse class familee was only come dat tam,
An' now we got pure Canayens; t'ee million peop' bedamme!

Dat's purty smart beez-neese, I t'ink we done on Canadaw,
An' we don't mak' no grande hooraw, but do it tranquillement
So if we're braggin' now an' den, we mus' be excuzay,
For no wan's never see before de record bus' dat way.

An' w'y should we be feel ashame, 'cos we have boy an' girl?
No matter who was come along, we'll match agen de worl';
Wit plaintee boy lak w'at we got no danger be afraid,
An' all de girl she look too nice for never come ole maid.

If we have only small cor-nere de sam' we have before
W'en ole Champlain an' Jacques ...

William Henry Drummond

Maxime Labelle

Victoriaw: she have beeg war, E-gyp's de nam' de place,
An' neeger peep dat's leev 'im dere, got very black de face,
An' so she's write Joseph Mercier, he's stop on Trois Rivieres,
"Please come right off, an' bring wit' you t'ree honder voyageurs.

"I got de plaintee sojer, me, beeg feller six foot tall,
Dat's Englishman, an' Scotch also, don't wear no pant at all;
Of course, de Irishman's de bes', raise all de row he can,
But noboddy can pull batteau lak good Canadian man.

"I geev you steady job for sure, an' w'en you get 'im t'roo
I bring you back on Canadaw, don't cos' de man un sou,
Dat's firs'-class steamboat all de way Kebeck an' Leeverpool,
An' if you don't be satisfy, you mus' be beeg, beeg fool."

We meet upon Hotel Dufresne, an' talk heem till daylight,<...

William Henry Drummond

Poleon Dore

A TALE OF THE SAINT MAURICE.


You have never hear de story of de young Napoleon Doré?
Los' hees life upon de reever w'en de lumber drive go down?
W'ere de rapide roar lak tonder, dat's de place he's goin' onder,
W'en he's try save Paul Desjardins, 'Poleon hese'f is drown.

All de winter on de Shaintee, tam she's good, and work she's plaintee,
But we're not feel very sorry, w'en de sun is warm hees face,
W'en de mooshrat an' de beaver, tak' some leetle swim on reever,
An' de sout' win' scare de snowbird, so she fly some col'er place.

Den de spring is set in steady, an' we get de log all ready,
Workin' hard all day an' night too, on de water mos' de tam,
An' de skeeter w'en dey fin' us, come so quickly nearly blin' us,
Biz, biz, biz, biz, all aroun' us till we...

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

De Habitant

De place I get born, me, is up on de reever
Near foot of de rapide dat's call Cheval Blanc
Beeg mountain behin' it, so high you can't climb it
An' whole place she's mebbe two honder arpent.

De fader of me, he was habitant farmer,
Ma gran' fader too, an' hees fader also,
Dey don't mak' no monee, but dat isn't fonny
For it's not easy get ev'ryt'ing, you mus' know,

All de sam' dere is somet'ing dey got ev'ryboddy,
Dat's plaintee good healt', wat de monee can't geev,
So I'm workin' away dere, an' happy for stay dere
On farm by de reever, so long I was leev.

O! dat was de place w'en de spring tam she's comin',
W'en snow go away, an' de sky is all blue,
W'en ice lef' de water, an' sun is get hotter
An' back on de medder is sing de gou-glou,

W...

William Henry Drummond