A song LaRena learned from her father. It seems like one of those British "social conscience" songs of the 19th century that coincided with the writings of Charles Dickens and the artwork of Henry Mayhew. Recorded on on her 1979 lp, "Canada At The Turn of...
This is LaRena's recorded version of an early 19th century British broadside ballad the goes by the same title or as "Lancashire Lads". This variant has been localized to Canada. ("nineteen cents a day") I choose to think that the Canadian singers of thi...
Recorded by LaRena Clark (1904-1999) on her 1979 lp "Canada At Turn of The Sod". A mild song of seduction from the points of view of a "shantyboy" and the girl he leaves behind. Curiously, the narrative voice passes from him to her two thirds of the way t...
The Chippewa Stream This song appears to be a Canadian "remake" of the traditional Scottish song "The Braes of Strathblane". The song was a staple in lumber camps in Ontario and elsewhere. LaRena was recorded singing this in the mid 1960s by Van Dittmer o...
LaRena recorded this song in 1978. It is a fairly well-known old Irish-American music hall song going back to about 1880. It was composed by Johnny Patterson, a popular Irish stage and circus performer who settled in the United States. This song is still ...
