“Moosehead Lake”
Description
"In eighteen hundred and ninety-two, Bant Breau and George Elliot they started a crew." Life in the camp, and the various characters there, are described. The singer talks about the combative men and the long hours
Notes
This song as found in Lomax shares several verses with "Blue Mountain Lake" (with which Roud lumps it) as well as the "Derry Down" tune, and may well have sprung from the same roots. The overall feeling is just different enough, however, that I have very tentatively decided to keep them separate.
Laws offers another explanation: "Lomax seems to have added some stanzas from [Blue Mountain Lake] to... 'Moosehead Lake.'" - RBW
Creighton-NovaScotia begins "In the month of October eighteen-eight-two, Billy Williams from Bangor he scared up a crew, And forty brave fellows of us he did take, And he landed us over across head Moose Lake" - BS
Cross references
- cf. "Blue Mountain Lake (The Belle of Long Lake)" [Laws C20] (floating lyrics)
References
- Lomax-FSNA 58, "Moosehead Lake" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Creighton-NovaScotia 122, "In the Month of October" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Roud #1825
- BI, LoF058