Two Hundred Years Ago

Two honder year ago, de worl' is purty slow

  Even folk upon dis contree 's not so

  smart,

Den who is travel roun' an' look out de

  pleasan' groun'

For geev' de Yankee peop' a leetle start?

I 'll tole you who dey were!  de beeg rough

  voyageurs,

W'it deir cousin w'at you call coureurs de bois,

Dat 's fightin' all de tam, an' never care a dam,

An' ev'ry wan dem feller he 's come from

  Canadaw

                  Baptême!

He 's comin' all de way from Canadaw.

But He watch dem, le bon Dieu, for He's  got

  some work to do,

An He won't trus' ev'ry body, no siree!

Only full blood Canadien, lak Marquette an'

  Hennepin,

An' w'at you t'ink of Louis Verandrye?

On church of Bonsecours!  makin' ready for

  de tour,

See dem down upon de knee, all prayin' dere-

Wit' de paddle on de han' ev'ry  good Canad-

  ien man,

An' affer dey be finish, hooraw for anyw'ere

                      Yass, sir!

Dey 're ready now for goin' anyw'ere.

De nort' win' know dem well, an' de prairie

   grass can tell

How offen it is trample by the ole tam botte

   sauvage-

An'grey wolf on hees den kip very quiet, w'en

He hear dem boy a' singin' upon de long

  portage.

An' de night would fin' dem lie wit' deir faces

  on de sky,

An' de breeze would come  an' w' isper on deir

  ear

'Bout de wife an' sweetheart dere on Sorel an'

  Trois Rivieres

Dey may never leev' to see anoder year

                       Dat 's true,

Dey may never leev' to kiss anoder year.

An' you 'll know de place dey go, from de

  canyon down below,

Or de mountain wit' hees nose aboeve de cloud,

De lake among de hill, w'ere de grizzly drink

  hees fill

Or de rapid on de reever roarin' loud;

Ax de wil' deer if de flash of de ole Tree

  Reever sash

He don't  see it on de woods of Illinois

An' de musk ox as he go, w'ere de camp fire

  melt de snow,

De smell he still remember of tabac Canadien

                           Ha! Ha!

It 's hard forgettin' smell of tabac Canadien!

So, ma frien' , de Yankee man, he mus' try an'

  understan'

W'en he holler for dat flag de Star an'

  Stripe,

If he 's leetle win' still lef', an' no danger hurt

  hese'f,

Den he better geev' anoder cheer, ba cripe!

For de flag of la belle France, dat show de way

  across

From Louisbourg to Florida an' back;

So raise it ev'ryw'ere, lak' de ole tam voy-

  ageurs,

W'en you hear of de la Salle an' Cadillac-

                               Hooraw!

For de flag of de la Salle an' Cadillac.