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Maine Lumberjacks 13
C
"The Shanty Boy's Alphabet," printed by Tolman, Journal of American Folk-Lore, XXXV\ 4/3-414. Sung to Hoyt £. Cooper, Manilla, Iowa, by Frank Covell, who learned his songs in the neighborhood of Fremont, Mich. See also note to "The Flying Cloud," p. 116.
1 A is the axe that cutteth the pine; B is the jolly boys, never behind; C is the cutting we early begin;
And D is the danger we ofttimes are in.
Chorus
And it's merry, merry, so merry are we; Not a mortal on earth is more happy than we. Then it's a heigh derry deny, and a heigh
derry down. The shanty boy is willing when nothing goes
wrong.
2 E is the echo that makes the woods ring; And F is the foreman, the head of our gang; G is the grindstone we grind our axe on; And H is the handle so smoothily worn.
3 I is the iron that marketh the pine; And J is the jolly boys, never behind; K is the keen edges our axes we keep; And L is the lice that keeps us from sleep.
4 M is the moss we stick in our camps; And N is the needle we sew up our pants; 0 is the owl that hoots in the night; And P is the tall pine we always fall right. |
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