How about that, Dan. I thought what I heard Paul sing was "slippery ball". I figured that I must have misheard that part of the phrase. It was logical in the context, but my onboard American-English filter didn't like it. Thinking longer about it, it's much more vivid than writing that fortune will never be in my grasp.

Another question: is this song related (other than being an emigration song) to the Willie and Mary song that appears on a Deanta recording?

Actually, I'm in Ann Arbor currently. I *wish* I was in Maine. I lived in Old Town for a couple years and did some archeology in the northern part of the state.

The Penobscot phrase (phonetic version) is:

Mahji golla dawup bettagwup skzzi seechay.

Your bonus is:

Mahji alamohss = bad dog

French Island is a modern (mostly) Penobscot settlement that rubs elbows with Old Town. I learned the phrases from a woman who taught English (lit. and language, I think) to Penobscot kids.

Thanks for the info. -Jill