“Chanson sur le Desastre de Baie Ste-Anne (Song on the Baie Ste-Anne Disaster)”
Description
French. The fishermen of Baie Ste-Anne and Escuminac go out expecting to return but the sudden storm takes 35 lives. Hearers are told to be prepared to meet God suddenly. Life is like a large ocean and each day we go toward eternity as in a light boat.
Notes
Manny/Wilson: "Baie Ste-Anne is the French-speaking settlement south of Escuminac." A source for information about the disaster is _The Ecuminac Disaster_ by Roy Saunders. - BS
The Escuminac tragedy was one of those defining moments for its community. Manny/Wilson report that performers sang no fewer than five songs about it at the 1959 Miramichi Folk Festival, and another in 1960 -- one, in fact, a tribute to the area by one of the drowned men. Of these six, they reported three, including this one. - RBW
Historical references
- June 19, 1959 - 22 salmon boats and 35 crewmen from Escuminac lost in a storm (Manny/Wilson)
References
- Manny/Wilson 17b, "Chanson sur le Desastre de Baie Ste-Anne" (1 text, 1 tune)
- BI, MaWi017b