Hi all - I'm an off and on lurker here, but I finally may have something to contribute. I learned this song in the mid-'70's at Camp Manito-Wish in northern Wisconsin. It was written by a woman affiliated with that camp, and I believe it must have dispersed from there. It's a beautiful song and well received whenever I sing it. Quoting from: "Songs of the Northland, Manito-Wish Song Book." "... written in 1960 by Mary Satterfield Swanson. On the first of many trips back to the Quetico, Mary brought along her baritone ukulele, which she fondly named Sarah after her adventures on Sarah Lake as a camper in 1959. It was on Sarah Lake that the words and music to 'The Life of a Voyageur' came to her. Mary brought the song to camp with her that summer and taught it to her cabin and later to the entire camp community." "Roger Perry wrote a third verse in 1971 that is still sung today." Unfortunately, the editors of this book accidentally omitted the 2nd and 3rd verses, but here's the first verse and chorus as written and the other 2 verses from my notes. THE LIFE OF A VOYAGEUR VERSE: The life of a voyageur That of a sojourner Traveling around and 'round But not from town to town Paddles the lakes and streams Follows his distant dreams Peace on the water ways Clear skies, no cloudy days CHORUS: My heart has but one home From which I'll never roam Land of true happiness Canadian wilderness The call of the lonely loon Coyotes howling at the moon Wind rustling through the trees That's the Canadian breeze Smoke rising from the fire Up through the leaves of the stately spires Down to the hearth in an evening glow Sun goes down no north winds blow The still waters of the morn Reflect one lonely soul Paddling so silently That none's disturbed by he Untouched by human flesh Water so pure and fresh His life is rough but good This is his chosen home Twice, now, I've heard this song in other contexts and each time it was sung with a different 3rd verse - not the one by Roger Perry. That's what got me to thinking and doing some digging. Some 'net searching turned up several versions of the first 2 verses - more-or-less the same as I learned. A couple versions, including the one at the top of the thread, include alternate 3rd and 4th verses. So far, I have found 6 verses in addition to the "original" three. All but one of the references I found are from or suggest a link to a summer camp. I find it interesting that this song evidently found its way into the folk tradition, but that it must have happened between 1960 and 1971, because the Roger Perry verse is not included. Makes me wonder if there are others around with no connection to the original source who know the Perry verse. - John
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