The Badger Drive
Encyclopedia
The Badger Drive is a traditional Newfoundland
folk song/ballad
. The song is about a lumber drive near Badger, Newfoundland
. As with many Newfoundland ballads the lyrics are about places and events and sometimes actual individuals, this song has all those qualities.
And now, since their trade is advancing, they'll come out on top before long.
They say that our sailors have danger, and likewise our warriors bold,
But there's none know the life of a driver, what he suffers with hardship and cold.
Chorus:
With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time
With the caulks on their boots
as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.
Bill Dorothey he is the manager, and he's a good man at the trade;
And when he's around seeking drivers, he's like a train going down grade,
But still he is a man that's kindhearted, on his word you can always depend.
And there's never a man that works with him but likes to go with him again.
Chorus:
With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time
With the caulks on their boots as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.
I tell you today home in London
, The Times it is read by each man,
But little they think of the fellows that drove the wood on Mary Ann,
For paper is made out of pulpwood and many things more you may know,
And long may our men live to drive it upon Paymeoch and Tomjoe.
Chorus:
With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time
With the caulks on their boots as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.
The drive it is just below Badger
, and everything is working grand,
With a jolly good crew of picked drivers and Roland Kelly in command,
For Roland is boss on the river, and I tell you he's a man that's alive,
He drove the wood off Victoria, now he's out on the main river drive.
Chorus:
With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time
With the caulks on their boots as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.
So now to conclude and to finish, I hope that ye all will agree
In wishing success to all Badger and the A.N.D. Company.
And long may they live for to flourish, and continue to chop, drive and roll,
And long may the business be managed by Mr. Dorothey and Mr. Cole.
Chorus:
With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time
With the caulks on their boots as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
folk song/ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
. The song is about a lumber drive near Badger, Newfoundland
Badger, Newfoundland and Labrador
Badger is a town in north-central Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada on the Exploits River. It supplied pulp and paper for the mills in Grand Falls for many years and was famous for its large spring log drives. The town is located in the interior of the island, twenty miles west of...
. As with many Newfoundland ballads the lyrics are about places and events and sometimes actual individuals, this song has all those qualities.
Lyrics
There is one class of men in this country that never is mentioned in song.And now, since their trade is advancing, they'll come out on top before long.
They say that our sailors have danger, and likewise our warriors bold,
But there's none know the life of a driver, what he suffers with hardship and cold.
Chorus:
With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time
With the caulks on their boots
Caulk boots
Caulk boots, calk boots, or cork boots are leather nail-soled boots worn by lumberjacks in the timber-producing regions of the Pacific Northwest and Canada. They are worn for traction in the woods and especially in timber rafting, and were part of a lumberman's basic equipment along with axe and...
as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.
Bill Dorothey he is the manager, and he's a good man at the trade;
And when he's around seeking drivers, he's like a train going down grade,
But still he is a man that's kindhearted, on his word you can always depend.
And there's never a man that works with him but likes to go with him again.
Chorus:
With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time
With the caulks on their boots as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.
I tell you today home in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, The Times it is read by each man,
But little they think of the fellows that drove the wood on Mary Ann,
For paper is made out of pulpwood and many things more you may know,
And long may our men live to drive it upon Paymeoch and Tomjoe.
Chorus:
With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time
With the caulks on their boots as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.
The drive it is just below Badger
Badger, Newfoundland and Labrador
Badger is a town in north-central Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada on the Exploits River. It supplied pulp and paper for the mills in Grand Falls for many years and was famous for its large spring log drives. The town is located in the interior of the island, twenty miles west of...
, and everything is working grand,
With a jolly good crew of picked drivers and Roland Kelly in command,
For Roland is boss on the river, and I tell you he's a man that's alive,
He drove the wood off Victoria, now he's out on the main river drive.
Chorus:
With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time
With the caulks on their boots as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.
So now to conclude and to finish, I hope that ye all will agree
In wishing success to all Badger and the A.N.D. Company.
And long may they live for to flourish, and continue to chop, drive and roll,
And long may the business be managed by Mr. Dorothey and Mr. Cole.
Chorus:
With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time
With the caulks on their boots as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.