Tickle Cove Pond was written by Mark Walker (songwriter)

Mark Walker (songwriter)

For the Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, see Mark Walker. For the Canadian Ethicist, see Mark Alan WalkerMark Walker was a fisherman and songwriter from Tickle Cove, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland...

, a fisherman and song-writer who lived in Tickle Cove, Bonavista Bay in Newfoundland, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 during the late 19th century. This song is prized locally for the beauty and wit of the lyrics, which turn a mundane event into an act of heroism. Although most Newfoundland songs are passed on by ear alone, in recent years it has been recorded by Sean Sullivan & Rob Slaney (Our Songs Vol. 2: Favorite Songs of Newfoundland & Labrador), Ron Hynes

Ron Hynes

Ron Hynes is a popular folk singer-songwriter from Newfoundland. He is especially known for his composition "Sonny's Dream," which has been recorded worldwide by many artists and was named the 41st greatest Canadian song of all time on the 2005 CBC Radio One series 50 Tracks: The Canadian...

 (Another Time: The Songs Of Newfoundland), and by Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...

, who have released an album entitled (The Hard and the Easy

The Hard and the Easy

The Hard and The Easy is an album by Great Big Sea. It was released on October 11, 2005 in Canada and October 25, 2005 in the US. It reached gold status by October 25, 2005....

). They have also released a DVD with a companion CD entitled (Courage & Patience & Grit

Courage & Patience & Grit

Courage & Patience & Grit is a DVD/CD set released by the band Great Big Sea on November 14, 2006. It contains video of the live performance from a concert at the Empire Theatre in Belleville, Ontario along with music videos for the songs "Captain Kidd", "When I Am King", "Lukey", and "Shines Right...

) in reference to a verse from Tickle Cove Pond. In addition, this song has been recorded by a St. John's Traditional Folk group called Connemara. It was also recorded by the Vermont-based ensemble Nightingale.

Additional Info: Mark Walker was born at Tickle Cove, Bonavista Bay South (BBS), Newfoundland, Canada in 1846. His father was Marcus Walker of County Tipperary, Ireland; his mother - Jane Mackey of Bonavista, Newfoundland. Mark Walker moved to Sweet Bay, BBS, in the 1880s where he worked as post master, as well as in both the fishing and lumber trades. In 1908, he and his family moved to Massachusetts, USA. Walker died in 1928.
Aside from "Tickle Cove Pond," Walker wrote other folk classics including "Fanny's Harbour Bawn," "The Antis of Plate Cove," "The Races on Tickle Cove Pond," and a second "Tickle Cove Pond" not long before his death.
Captain John Russell, 101, of Bonavista (and a fine poet and singer himself) partied with Walker in the fall of 1927 in MA.

• Although widely misunderstood in the lyircs, the surname "Oldford" never existed in Tickle Cove until relatively recent years. The surname mentioned in the song is "Over" which at one time was "Ovier." The phonetic misunderstanding and subsequent use of both surnames, as well as other lines, in relation to this song is common.

"Tickle Cove Pond" was first recorded by Canadian folksinger Alan Mills in 1953 and released on "Folk Songs of Newfoundland" (Folkways Records FP 831).

Lyrics

In cuttin' and haulin', in frost and in snow

We're up against troubles that few people know

And it's only by courage and patience and grit

And eatin' plain food that we keep ourselves fit

The hard and the easy we take as it comes

And when ponds freeze over we shorten our runs

To hurry my haulin' with spring coming on

Near lost me a mare out on Tickle Cove Pond

Chorus:

Lay hold William Over, lay hold William White

Lay hold of the cordage and pull all your might

Lay hold of the bowline and pull all you can

And give me a lift with poor Kit on the pond

I knew that the ice became weaker each day

But still took the risk and kept haulin' away

One evening in April bound home with a load

The mare showed some halting against the ice road

She knew more than I did as matters turned out

And lucky for me had I joined her in doubt

She turned round her head, with tears in her eyes

As if she were sayin', "You're riskin our lives"

All this I ignored with a whip handle blow

For man is too stupid; dumb creatures to know

The very next moment the pond gave a sigh

And down to our necks went poor Kitty and I

Chorus

For if I had taken wise Kitty's advice

I never would take the shortcut on the ice

Poor creature she's dead; poor creature she's gone

I'll ne'er get my mare out of Tickle Cove Pond

Chorus

So I raised an alarm you could hear for a mile

And neighbours turned up in a very short while

You can always rely on the Overs and Whites

To render assistance in all your bad plights

To help a poor neighbour is part of their lives

The same I can say for their children and wives

When a bowline was fastened around the mare's breast

William White for a shanty song made a request

There was no time for thinkin', no time for delay

Straight from his head came this song right away

Chorus Final

Lay hold William Over, lay hold William White

Lay hold of the cordage and pull all your might

Lay hold of the bowline and pull all you can

And with that we brought Kit out of Tickle Cove Pond