LaRena learned this song from her father. It seems to have been adapted/evolved from a poem by Fred Coyne (1899-1964) which appears in his book "Poems of The Pontiac". It's recorded on her 1969 lp "Songs of An Ontario Family".
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...
One of many versions of "The Shantyboy's Alphabet". These songs are part of a larger family of alphabet songs including "The Sailor's Alphabet". This song probably goes back to the mid 19th century. Emerson Woodcock was born in Kinmount and worked in lumb...
From the Allen Ash Manuscript. This is one of those fiddle tunes which seems to have provided a structural template for many other tunes. It appears here in the key of G - as it also does in the Buttery Manuscript. (It is more often noted in the key of A)...
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...
