“Niagara Falls”

Author: unknown
Earliest date: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection)
Keywords: lumbering work disaster worksong
Found in: US(Ap)

Description

"Don't you hear the water rolling?/Ho, ho, ho.../That we're riding off in trouble/Ho, ho, ho...)" Later verses take the form, "Don't you go and tell our father (mother, sister)/.../That we're riding off in trouble..."

Notes

Sharp notes, "The words of the song refer to men on a logging raft, which has got out of control and is drifting toward Niagara Falls." - PJS

References

  1. SharpAp 166, "Niagara Falls" (1 text, 1 tune)
  2. Roud #3640
  3. BI, ShAp2166
The Traditional Ballad Index is copyright ©2008 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. The Digital Tradition is copyright The Mudcat Cafe.