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CHIBOUGAMOU, by                    
First Line: Did you ever see an air-hole on the ice
Last Line: Can beat de pil is lyin' on dat place chibougamou.


DID you ever see an air-hole on the ice
Wit' de smoke a risin' roun' about it dere?
De reever should be happy w'ere it's feelin' warm an' nice,
But she t'ink she ought to get a leetle air.

An' she want to be a lookin' on de sky,
So of course de cole win' hit her on de nose --
"I'll come up again," she say, "on de spring tam, bimeby,
But I'm better now below," and off she goes.

Dat's de way I feel mese'f on de farm a year ago,
W'ere ev'ryt'ing should be a pleasan' dream;
Lak de foolish reever dere, I'm not satisfy below,
So I got to let me off a leetle steam.

Den a man he come along an' he say to me, "Look here --
Don't you know that place dey call Chibougamou
W'ere de diamon' lie aroun' like de mush-room on de groun',
An' dey're findin' all de gole an' silver too?

"W'at's de use of stayin' here den? Didn't Johnnie Drutusac
Lif' de mor'gage off hees place an' buy a cow?
Only gone a leetle w'ile -- hardly miss heem till he's back;
He's easy workin' man too, an' look at Johnnie now?

"Well enough, ma frien', you know I can never tell de lie
W'en I say de gole is comin' t'ousan' ounces on de ton,
An' de solid silver mak' you feel funny on de eye,
Lak de snow-blin' on de winter w'en it shine de morning sun.

"I s'pose you won't believe, but you know dat gravel walk
Ma fader got it facin' on hees house at St. Bidou --
But w'at's de use of spikin', w'at's de use of talk?
Dat's de way you see de diamon' on dat place Chibougamou.

"Course you got to go an' fin' dem quickly, or de stranger man
Come along wit' plaintee barrel -- an' you're never knowin' w'en
Couple o' Yankee off the State, he was buyin' all de lan';
Affer dat an' w'ere's your gole an' silver goin' den?

"So, Bateese, get up an' hurry, sell de farm, mon cher ami,
Leave de girl an' bring provision, pork an' bean, potato too,
Leetle w'isky, an' I'll put heem on de safe place under me
W'ile I sit an' steer you off to dat place Chibougamou."

Oh! de day an' night we're passin', me dat never was before
On de bush, except w'en heifer go away an' den got los';
Oh! de pullin' an' de haulin', till I'm feelin' purty sore,
But of all de troub an' worry, de skeeter, he's de boss.

Beeg? lak de leetle two-mont' robin. Sing? lak a sawmill
on de spring.
Put de blanket roun' your body an' den he bite you troo.
Me, I never tak' hees measure, but I t'ink across de wing
He's t'ree inch sure -- dem skeeter, on dat place Chibougamou.

De man he's goin' wit' me, never paddle, never haul,
Jus' smoke an' watch an' lissen for dat ole Chibougamou;
I s'pose he can't be bodder doin' any work at all,
For de feller tak' you dere jus' have not'ing else to do.

T'ousan' mile we mak' de travel -- t'ousan' mile an' mebbe more,
An' I do de foolish prayin' lak' I never pray at home,
'Cos I want a chance to get it, only let me see de shore
Of Chibougamou a little w'ile before de winter come.

No use prayin', no use climbin' on de beeg tree ev'ry day,
Lookin' hard to see de diamon', an' de silver, an' de gole --
I can't see dem, an' de summer she begin to go away,
An' de day is gettin' shorter, an' de night is gettin' cole.

So I kick an' raise de row den, an' I tole ma frien' lookout --
Purty quick de winter's comin' an' we'll hurry up an' go;
Never min' de gole an' silver -- diamon' too we'll go widout,
Or de only wan we're seein', is de diamon' on de snow.

Mebbe good place w'en you get dere, w'at you call Chibougamou,
But if we never fin' it, w'at's de use dat place to me?
Tak' de paddle, for we're goin', an' mese'f I'll steer canoe,
For I'm always firse-class pilot on de road to St. Elie.

Oh! to see me on de mornin', an' de way I mak' heem sweat,
You can see de water droppin' all aroun' hees neck an' face;
"Now, Chibougamou," I tell heem, "hurry up, an' mebbe yet
You'll have chance again to try it w'en you leave me on ma place."

So we have a beeg procession, w'en we pass on St. Elie,
All de parish comin' lookin' for de gole an' silver too,
But Louise, she cry so moche dere, jus' becos she's seein' me,
She forget about de diamon' on dat ole Chibougamou.

Affer all is gone an' finish, an' you mak' a fool you'se'f,
An' de worl' is go agen you, w'at's de medicine is cure
Lak de love of hones' woman w'en she geev it all herse'f?
So Louise an' me is happy, no matter if we're poor.

So de diamon' may be plaintee, lak de gravel walk you see
W'en you're comin' near de house of ole Telesphore Beaulieu,
But me, I got a diamon' on ma home on St. Elie
Can beat de pil is lyin' on dat place Chibougamou.





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