MIDI
Canadee-I-O
It's of a gallant lady, just in the prime of youth.
She dearly loved a sailor; in fact, she loved to wed,
And how to get to sea with him the way she did not know,
All for to see this pretty place called Canadee-I-O.
She bargained with a sailor all for a purse of gold,
And straightway he had taken her right down into the hold,
'I'll dress you up in sailor suit; your colors shall be blue
And you soon will see that pretty place, called Canada
When our mate had heard this, he fell into a rage,
Likewise our ship's company was willing to engage:
'I'll tie your hands and feet, my love, and overboard you'll go,
And you'll never see the pretty place called Canadee-I-O.'
And when the captain heard this: "This thing shall never be,
For if you drown that fair maid, hanged sure you'll be;
I'll take her to my cabin, her colors shall be blue,
And she soon will see that pretty place called Canadee-I-O.'
They had not arrived in Canada more than the space of half a year,
Before the Captain married her, and called her his very dear.
She can dress in silk or satin; she caught a gallant show;
She was one of the fairest ladies in Canadee-I-0.
Come all ye, young ladies, whoever you may be,
To be sure and follow your true love, if ever he goes to sea,
And if your mate, he do prove false, you're captain he'll prove true,
And you'll see the honor I have gained by wearing of the blue
DT #378
Printed in Leach Folk Ballads & Songs of the Lower Labrador Coast
apr96