M. Weiss, qui étudie le folklore à VUniversité de Maryland, a effectué des recherches au Canada, au cours de l’été 1971. A ux frontières de l’Alberta et de la Colombie-Britannique, il a enregistré sur bandes sonores, des interviews qu’il a eus avec un certain nombre de fermiers et de fouilleurs des mines d ’or. Dans cet article, il présente les chants et les appels des danses carrées qu’il a recueillis auprès d ’eux

Weiss, Michael J.

English

University of New Brunswick: Centre for Digital Scholarship Journals

SONGS FROM WESTERN CANADAMICHAEL J. WEISSWeiss: Could you sing me any ranching songs?Patton: Oh I don’t know. It wouldn’t be any good. Sometimes I can remember singin’ to myself hours at a time. On the other hand, sometimes I can’t remember nothing to sing.It was only after ninety-six year-old Tom Patton gave me this apology and slammed the door so no one would hear that he let loose with a half-a-dozen square-dance calls and a bawdy chant about a cowboy’s hardships. His singing performance, however, was well worth the wait — for quantity  as well as quality. Throughout the summer of 1971 I had encountered only three other singers while recording the gold miners and ranchers along the Rockies between Alberta and British Columbia; the rest of my tapes contained oral narratives in the form of stories, personal histories, and anecdotes.1In this article, I will present the songs that I recorded2 and a brief comm entary about each singer. Since the paucity of my data will not support any generalizations concerning the genre of song in western Canada, I shall gladly take a back seat as an analyst and let the lyrics speak for themselves. As a whole, they represent m odern versions o f North American songs that were popular at the turn of the century. While I have not been able to discern the origins o f every tune, all o f the informants conceded that they had had contact with early phonograph records, so the histories o f some of these songs have probably included a rendition from a record player.And now for the singers and their songs.. .-  Tom Patton -From cook to boss, Tom Patton has worked on a dozen ranches, at different times raising sheep, cattle, and horses. He was born in Virginia in 1876 and made his way to the ranches of western Canada while still a teen-ager. For many years he was a square-dance caller around Dog Creek, B.C., where dances were held “ tw o nights in a row” . And when he wasn’t calling, he would often sing for the ranch cowboys — an activity which created a bit o f friendly trouble after working an eighteen-hour day:I was camped one night, right close to town. I was cookin’ that time for the cowboys. And I was layin’ in the tent singin’ and a couple of them came in; and there’s about a half dozen in town. And theyiM y folklore project in western Canada was carried out with the sponsorship o f the University o f Maryland’s General Honors Program. C urrently the original tape recordings and accompanying transcriptions are housed in the Maryland Folklore Archives. In this article, all fu ture references to  the data collected will be noted  by the cassette on which the material was recorded.2A special thanks goes to my friend and colleague, Sharon G natt, who furnished the musical notations for each song. Her patience and assistance were invaluable during this transcribing process.come in and sit down. I sang a song or two for them and one of them  took his six-shooter o ff and lays it down beside o f me on the bed.He says, “Them fellers will come in from town. You just take this and tell ’em to get the hell ou t.” Well, they come by and they saw me layin’ down with that thing on my hand and they never said nothing; pulled the flap shut. I never heard a sound. (Tape 12; Side 1)I recorded Mr. Patton on July 26, 1971, in Kamloops, B.C. when he gave me his version o f “The Horse Wrangler” (also known as “The Tenderfoot”) and six square-dance calls. Those familiar with “The Horse Wrangler” will note the language differences between Mr. Patton’s view of the infamous Brown and earlier versions from the 1890’s. While boss Brown was formerly presented as telling the tenderfoot,"And yo u  ’re doin ’fine, ’’says Brown.'A n d  i f  tomorrow yo u  d o n ’t die,I ’ll have another fo r  to try, ”3Mr. P atton’s boss is portrayed in a vulgar vein:Says Brown, " Y o u ’re d o in ’ well.A n d  i f  yo u  d o n ’t dodge it more,Then all G od’s shit w e ’ll give yo u  fo r  to try. ”Of the six pieces of square-dance calls that Mr. Patton sang, the third and fourth texts seem closely related to excerpts from “Old Arkansaw” and “Lady Go ’Round and the Gent Cut Through” . The rest o f the calls have been amassed over the years from popular and original sources. One comm ent indicates that Mr. Patton created some o f  these calls himself:I called one out here one night, “Swing the heifers in the center and the stags outside,” and some o f the girls didn’t like that. Oh, 1 used to call a lot o f them.“THE HORSE WRANGLER”rrj-j J J J . 1 CJ" Cf f V JTOh I  w as m town a -  hang-'inj a - fo u n d , 1 saw ih* c a M It k in g ; Iasked him to gin« m« a  job . He saysihe boss 1» in  town, H  you seehim 1 th inlthell "takeyoaa-roui*4.hey tine high the son o f a  b itch , the bas-tard  had lois g a ll • 3Jules Verne Allen, C owboy Lore, San A ntonio: The Naylor Co., 1933, pp. 93-5.39H e p u t m e in charge o f  a cattle yard,A n d  told m e no t to work too hard.A ll I  had to do was m ind a horse from  getting away I  had three hundred and seventy head.A n d  o ft  times wished that I  was dead.I f  one was to get away, then hell would be to pay.They saddled m e up on an old gray hack With tw o set tracks on his back.They padded him  dow n with a gunny sack, m y bed h e ’d  taken all.He le ft the ground and when I  came down I  g o t an awful fall.They carried me o u t and rubbed me down With an iron stake pin.(Chorus was chanted)Says Brown, “ You ’re doin ’ well.A n d  i f  y o u  d o n 't dodge it moreThen all G od’s shit w e ’ll give yo u  fo r  to try. ”"Oh can I  walk?”"Yes. ”I  bound back to town.SQUARE DANCE CALLS 1.9 -  f  J r  ^  ]L T T  ^F irs t  lQ*dtj ouf f © the rigMa wUwinglh* rnonfhfli stofefbe sh««p.Now lh« on* Ihai af« ihe meal^  Now one th a i  gnawed fh* bornt,Now4ht on# ihot'H fakeyou ho *  "Tm t. ¿verijboohj sw in ^ *P— U— Í -------4— *------- j~— x— &--------------------- \---------------4 ------- 1— T T j --------—E v '-  b o  - d ij d a n ce ,'if  you cant dance dance  p re + .fy a s  y o u  c a n .Don't fo r -  g e f t h a t  j<. f t  a l -  le  - monde, And i ie  right a nd  le fi  granc(.R r i t  |a -d y  oul to th e  right, SwinjgranJ-maaná nomqrud-pa and doit lo r-¡ft old A r-kan-san.4.Jo m  your hands and eir-cle to the le f t .  F irst cou-pJe up to the la-dy on the ríqht.mü ü pta- d y  rouivi theIci-d^ and the gent so low* lq-d^  found the gent and the gentdorrt go-m 15. Four hands u/o a n d  do s i d o . U t - t l e  more d o6 .Your right foot up ond  you r  left foot down. Make a bi  ^ hol* le id ig  a  hole in the g ro u n d .mThe first two la- dies crois o-ver and by the gen-tie-men sh>«J ■ The next two lo-dies cross o-ver andn mtake  them by the hand. Hon-Our to your le f t ,  Hon our to yo u r r ig h t .Swing your right hand la  - d y  and prom -e  -n a d e  th e  h a l l .-  J. Angus M cKinnon -The son o f a pioneer rancher on the Alberta prairie, J. Angus McKinnon has led a varied life in addition to working his family’s grain and cattle ranch. He has been active in the local government o f Calgary in recent years as well as administrating a provincial oil development company. An avid historian, Mr. McKinnon has already published one book about the development o f the McKinnon and neighbouring ranches, and was working on a second when 1 recorded him on August 17, 1971.During the interview, three songs were taped: one original and two popular tunes. Although Mr. McKinnon has rarely performed before audiences in the past,4 he has sometimes composed lyrics to celebrate a birthday or similar occasion. The wedding anniversary of his ranch neigh­bours, the Evanses, prom pted his writing o f  “The Mansion by the Bow,” sung to the tune o f “The Little Old Sod Shanty.” 5 In this composition, the lyrics o f a pioneer’s hard life in “ the sod shanty on my claim” are ironically4Mr. McKinnon consented to my recording his singing on the condition that 1 “d o n ’t play them  (the recordings) for the President o f the United States, or he might send me off to V ietnam .”5 Allen, p. 109.transform ed into the splendor o f “ the rustic rough-board mansion” o f the Evans’ Bow River ranch.The other songs are his renditions o f American pieces that were popular at the turn o f the century. Mr. McKinnon’s version o f “The Last Great Round-Up” 6 (also known as “The Cowboy’s Heaven”) was similar to a num ber o f offshoots sung throughout Texas and the Southwest between 1890 and 19220.7 “The Preacher and the Bear,” was composed in 1904 by Joe Arzonia o f  Philadelphia.8 Both o f these songs, he explained, were learned “ from the old phonograph, years and years ago.” (Tape 1, Side 1)“THE MANSION BY THE BOW’:Th e re 's  a  ri •v«*’ t h a t  is  f lo w -m g  on towordafhc •a*t**rn s#a . Its  source ¿¿ ¡n jh tR o c k  /e s ih a to n if  P p rol- w ay»fh*reto S « . i t  f lo w s  on  thru fb« ci - fry , ou t on the \e  -Vtfl plair^FW  fb<*r-wt-hc rough board m a n s io n  b y  th e  B o w .  You w ill love these £v-or»s b ea ^ p u lh ,P p P rKath- y  B rian  and Ted. You'll be wel come in fhijman-sion andyoull v ire lg  be well fed. You'P ^ l p p ^  «L j  ^ p Ip P p- ^ p p p pget a  wee wee drappie and a  lii -tle trun -all« b»d in tkiii ru»-+ic rou^h boanlimMionwth« hill.You m ight see the hungry coyote as he sneaks up  through the grass.H e may also be howling on the hill.You ’11 enjoy the evening silence, ju st before the setting sun.In  this rustic, rough-board mansion by the Bow.The cattle will be grazing in contentm ent on the flat. The calves will be a-crawling through the fence.The com  will be a-bloomin ’ and a-fillin ’ later on, Near this rustic rough-board mansion by the Bow.6 “The C ow boy’s Heaven” is found  in  Margaret Larkin, Singing C owboy, N.Y.: Oak Publications, 1963, p. 106.7Larkin, p. 109.8Newman White, Am erican Negro Folk-Songs, H atboro. Pa.: Folklore Associates, Inc.,1965, p. 40.“THE LAST GREAT ROUND-UP”I» *  "'m  kLa st  niqhfas I  lay on th« p ra t-W e ,—  I  <----m---- =-----S— =------k — k-------:------(-------1-----s—- )  ft «-■ *  ------ ¡ 5-la ied  a+ 'th* sW sin -th e  s k y .-----  I— P— p — ~ — p •> J_ J A-lWon-dered rf e - v«r q co w -b o y  WouldJ> p ^  - U — 1landl m that sweet b j and toy.They say there will be a great round-up,Where cowboys like dogies will stand,To be cut by the riders from  heaven,Who are no ted  and know  every brand.The road that leads down to perdition  Is narrow and dim so they say.A n d  the road that leads up to G od’s kingdom,Is staked o u t and blazed all the way.I  wonder i f  ever a cowboy,Would prepare fo r  that great judgm ent day,Could say to the boss o f  the riders,“I ’m ready to be driven away. ”They say we will never forsake you ,For He knows every action and look.So fo r  safety y o u ’d better be branded,A n d  have yo u r name in the o ld  valley book.“THE PREACHER AND THE BEAR”(Ed. note: The tune to which this song was sung is the one most commonl> used and as it was learned from a phonograph record it is not reproduced here. The words show some minor variations.)Oh, the preacher went a-hunting; ’twas on a Sunday morn.I t  was against his religion, bu t he took  his gun along.He shot h im self some very fin e  quail and a wise and a measly hare,A n d  on his way returning hom e m et a great big grizzly bear.The bear stood up on his hind legs, and w ent fo r  the coon, yo u  see.The coon got so excited, he climbed up a cinnamon tree.The bear walked out on the middle o f  the road, and the coon climbed o u t on a limb.A n d  he raised up his eyes to the gods in the skies and these words said to him:Oh, Lord, did y o u  deliver Daniel from  the lio n ’s den,Also deliver Jonah from  the belly o f  the whale, and thenThe Hebrew children from  the fiery furnace as the good book  do declare.Oh, Lord, i f  yo u  d o n ’t help me, fo r  goodness sakes, d o n ’t help tha t bear.— Jens Hansen —Jens Hansen has been finding gold — accidentally or on purpose — since a morning in 1929 when he chanced upon his first nugget in British Columbia. In his own words, he had found his profession:I didn’t know the first thing about the ground up here. And I ’m down there, panning. I got maybe ten cents in the pan. But I took m y cigarette, it’s all soaking wet, and I put it right on a ten dollar nugget.I says, “Hi!”From then on, I looked for nuggets. (Tape 2; Side 1)He is still popularized for the $500 strike he dug up in 1937, and has earned the name “Lucky Swede” throughout the Cariboo area o f B.C. (although he was actually born in Norway). Immigrating to Canada when he was nineteen, he has been placer mining ever since he first set foot in British Columbia in 1929.I recorded these parts of songs on July 6, 1971, in Wells, B.C. Although I am uncertain about the origins o f both songs, Lucky commented that he learned them “off an old music box. We used to sing them a lot during the ‘hungry thirties’ up here.”1.T h e re 's  gold up-on ihe Tu-la-meen,Raii-num in 1he su n . Fiah-es 'in the r \-ve r another*»year* up-on -Vh« la n d .-------  B e r-rie sfo r your pick-’tn J/M  fare'sgroui-fs q+ your d e o r jT h tre 's  a1d e o r  —  old Pe\ ■ l y ,  Why go ro am  -  mg a  -  ny mo^« -2 .p |j I p f-y f! |pI ’m o n - ly  a  c ra -2 .y  o ld  m u c k -e r.-------  My life  in the m in ts— I  sp«nt.F r e e d , f o o l e d  for a  s u c k — e r  — • flnoi m y b a c k , s h e  \% t i  - r ed  a n d  5p*n+.No peaday was m y heyday, as beer and rum I  did drink.Wake up in the morning, drunk, feeling punk.I  scoffed a man in that office, I  called him belittlin ’ names,But I  realized as I  grew older, I  just might back where he is his grave.I  can see m y last days, they 're nearing; I  can see them  only so clear,When I  been working, sweating, swearing, with a pick and a shovel in hell.Silver Springs, MarylandRésumé: M. Weiss, qui étudie le fo lk lo re  à VUniversité de M aryland, a e ffec tué  des recherches au Canada, au cours de l ’été 1971. A u x  frontières de l ’A lberta  e t de la C olom bie-Britannique, il a enregistré sur bandes sonores, des in terview s q u ’il a eus avec un certain nom bre de ferm iers e t de fou illeurs des mines d ’or. Dans cet article, il présente les chants e t les appels des danses carrées q u ’il a recueillis auprès d ’eux.A REFERENCE LIST ON CANADIAN FOLK MUSICThe following is a revised and updated version o f the reference list prepared for the Canadian Folk Music Society by Barbara Cass-Beggs and Edith Fowke in 1966. It is selective rather than complete: it includes most books o f traditional songs and records by traditional singers, along with representative articles on various aspects of Canadian folk music, and some folk-song records by non-traditional singers. A more detailed bibliography of both published and unpublished material is planned for the future.The published material has been divided into language groupings, and general works that include songs in two or more languages have been included in the English section. Asterisks indicate items which include more extensive bibliographies.The list of compositions based on folk music is necessarily limited, but it includes most published works, and some unpublished works available through the Canadian Music Centre, 1263 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario. The Music Centre can also supply inform ation about other unpublished com­positions. (For this section we are indebted to Henry Mutsaers.)

Songs from Western Canada

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Songs from Western Canada

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