Author: Edith Fowke

Publisher: Austin : Published for the American Folklore Society by the University of Texas Press

Published: 1970

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13:

Death and danger are dominant themes in the shantyboy's repertoire, as they were prevailing realities in his life. The ballad of Jimmy Whelan, one of many tragic heroes who went to a watery grave, ends with the warning to take care. "For death is drawing nearer and trying to destroy the pride of some poor mother's heart and his father's only joy." If constant occupational hazards are not enough to sour one's outlook, surely hard work for poor pay, loneliness, and lack of creature comforts will make a bitter person. Not the shantyboy. His songs may complain of hard times, but more often they celebrate his pride in a job well done, his strong sense of camaraderie, and his good humor, elements especially evident in the "moniker songs," which name each member of a crew and describe their job. Indeed, in one breath the shantyboy brands the food as such that dogs would bark at; in the next he cheerfully inquires, "who could lead a happier life than a jovial shantyboy?" In Ontario and adjoining areas of Quebec, the lumbercamps played a major role in preserving and spreading folk songs of all kinds, for the logger sang everything from British ballads to American music-hall ditties and also inspired the region's largest group of native songs. The compiler's collection of sixty-five songs, recorded from former shantyboys, is unique, being the first in this field to exclude the more general songs popular in the bunkhouse. By limiting her collection to only those songs that feature the shantyboy and his work, she presents a vivid picture of life in the north woods before the days of mechanization. This book includes many songs never before published and four ballads previously listed as of doubtful currency in oral tradition. The texts and music are complemented by detailed documentation and by comments on the history and currency of the songs and on their relation to other folk songs; variant texts and tunes are also given. Both published works and recordings by traditional singers are thoroughly covered in the references, which cite not only sources that give the same song or similar versions, but those that contain tune relatives. An essay by Norman Cazden, who transcribed the music and compiled the information on tune relatives, discusses the analysis of traditional tunes. --Dust jacket.