Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE CANADIAN MAGPIE, by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND First Line: Mos' ev'rywan lak de robin Last Line: Bapteme! | ||||||||
MOS' ev'rywan lak de robin An' it's pleasan' for hear heem sing, Affer de winter's over An' it's comin' anoder spring. De snow's hardly off de mountain An' it's cole too among de pine But you know w'en he sing, de sout' win' Is crowdin' heem close behin'. An' mebbe you hear de grosbec Sittin' above de nes' -- An' you see by de way he's goin' De ole man's doin' hees bes' Makin' de wife an' baby Happy as dey can be -- An' proud he was come de fader Such fine leetle familee. De gouglou of course he's nicer Dan many de bird dat fly, Dunno wa't we do widout heem, But offen I wonder w'y He can't stay quiet a minute Lak res' of de small oiseaux An' finish de song he's startin' Till whish! an' away he go! Got not'ing to say agen dem, De gouglou an' all de res' -- 'Cept only dey lak de comfort, An' come w'en it suit dem bes' -- For soon as de summer's passin' An' leaf is begin to fall -- You'll walk t'roo de wood an' medder An' never hear wan bird call. But come wit' me on de winter On place w'ere de beeg tree grow De smoke of de log house chimley Will tole you de way to go -- An' if you're not too unlucky De w'isky jack dere you'll see Flyin' aroun' de shaintee An' dat was de bird for me. You'll mebbe not lak hees singin' Dough it's better dan not'ing too, For affer he do hees bes', den W'at more can poor Johnnie do? It's easy job sing on summer De sam' as de rossignol -- But out of door on de winter Jus' try it youse'f -- dat's all. See heem dere, now he's comin' Hoppin' an' hoppin' aroun' W'en we start on de morning early For work till de sun go down -- T'row heem hees piece of breakfas' An' hear heem say "merci bien," For he's fond of de pork, ba golly! Sam' as de Canayen. De noise of de axe don't scare heem He stay wit' us all de day, An' w'en he was feelin' lak' it Ride home wit' de horse an' sleigh Den affer we reach de shaintee He's waitin' to see us back Jompin' upon de log dere Good leetle w'isky jack! So here's to de bird of winter Wearin' de coonskin coat, W'enever it's bird election You bet he can get ma vote -- Dat's way I be feel about it, Voyageurs let her go today! W'isky jack, get ready, we drink you Toujours a vot' bonne sante! Bapteme! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A RAINY DAY IN CAMP by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND AUTUMN DAYS by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND BARBOTTE (BULL-POUT) by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND BATEESE AND HIS LITTLE DECOYS by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND BATEESE THE LUCKY MAN by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND BLOOM - A SONG OF COBALT by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND BOULE by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND BRUNO THE HUNTER by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND CANADIAN FOREVER by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND CAUDA MORRHUAE by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND |
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