Lyr Req: River Driving

Subject: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 29 Jan 03 - 11:19 AM

I've searched the DT o'er and nary a trace of the lyrics of this song could I find. It's an Adirondack lumberman's song that starts with, "River driving on Sackintag" [phoentic spelling], and each four-line stanza ends with the chorus line, "My gal's waiting for me." The story line includes Big French Joe who is drowned when a log jam breaks.

Anyone have these lyrics transcribed?

Thanks,

Jerry

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: Sorcha
Date: 29 Jan 03 - 11:33 AM

No luck at all, but Forum part of the Search is down. It may be posted somewhere here.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Jan 03 - 08:58 AM

No further clues from Minstelsy of Maine or Songs of the Sailor and Lumberman, nor in Sandy Ives or Frank Warner's collections.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 Feb 03 - 10:41 PM

There's a river in the Adirondacks called the Sacandaga. Does that help?

Other than that, I haven't found anything.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: mg
Date: 21 Feb 03 - 10:51 PM

can't help but do you know the Badger Drive? Awesome song from newfoundalnd. I was also trying to remember a driving song...not the river in the pines..not lost Jimmy Whelan..not Jack Munroe...really pretty tune..I want to say man's name was Archie or something..but maybe not...

mg

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: raredance
Date: 22 Feb 03 - 12:17 AM

Badger Drive is in the DT. Stan Rogers also does a version.

Here's a list of some other river driving dominated songs. Unfortunately none seems to match the original request

Driving Saw Logs on the Plover
The Wild Mustard River
Jack Haggarty
The Jam on Gerry's Rock
The West Branch Song
Guy Read
Jim Whalen (James Phalen)
The Banks of the Little Eau Pleine
The Fatal Oak
The River in the Pines
Driving Logs on the Cass
The Beau Shai River (Jimmy Judge)
'Twas on the Napanee
The Cold Black River Stream


rich r

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: mg
Date: 22 Feb 03 - 12:38 AM

jack haggarty...I think that is the one. I will go and search for a midi for it. mg

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: georgeward
Date: 22 Feb 03 - 03:41 PM

The song is a poem by Jeanne Robert Foster JRF , set to music by Adirondack singer Dan BerggrenBerggren. If you have any interest at all in the lore of the Adirondacks, both are very much worth knowing about.

The poem is from a long-out-of-print and hard-to-find book of JRF's poems titled 'Neighbors and Friends'. Dan's recording of the song is on one of his albums. I believe it is 'And Now Please Welcome..', but if you're thinking of ordering it, I'd e-mail him to be sure.

I do sing the song. Haven't time to post it now, but if you want it and no one else does I'll do it eventually.   -George ::-.--O

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: georgeward
Date: 22 Feb 03 - 03:44 PM

Oh mercy! My blickies worked! Oh frabjous day! Next time I'll space 'em right.

Subject: Lyr Add: RIVER DRIVER'S LAMENT (from K Peacock)
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 22 Feb 03 - 05:06 PM

Lyr. Add: THE RIVER DRIVER'S LAMENT

I was just the age of sixteen when I first went on the drive,
And after six months' hard labor at home I did arrive,
I courted a pretty girl, 'twas her caused me to roam,
Sure I'm a river driver and I'm far away from home.

I'll eat when I'm hungry and I'll drink when I'm dry,
Get drunk when I'm ready, get sober by and by,
And if this river don't drown me it's down I mean to roam,
Sure I'm a river driver and I'm far away from home.

Now I'm old and feeble and in my sickness lie,
Just wrap me up in my shanty blankets and lie me down to die,
Just one little bluebird to sing for me alone,
Sure I'm a river driver and I'm far away from home.

I'll eat when I'm hungry and I'll drink when I'm dry,
Get drunk when I'm ready, get sober by and by,
But if the river don't drown me, it's down I mean to roam,
Sure I'm a river driver and I'm far away from home.

Sung by John T. O'Quinn, Searston, Nfld., 1959 (from the Codroy Valley). The original form of his name was Aucoin.

"Songs of the Newfoundland Outports," 1965, by Kenneth Peacock, vol. 3, pp. 759-760.

Subject: Lyr Add: RIVER DRIVING (from Jeff Warner)
From: GUEST,Michael D.
Date: 14 Mar 03 - 05:33 PM

A recording of River Driving performed by Jeff Warner can be found on the 20th Annual Sea Music Festival Mystic CD from Mystic Seaport. I took these words off that recording (and I don't speak/write French but the pronunciation in the third verse sounds like "pren-nay guard"). I have seen "Sacadog" as slang for the Sacandaga River, so the rhyme with "log" works.

RIVER DRIVING

River driving on Sacadog
Floating on those slippery logs
Sleeping in them frozen bogs
My girl's waiting for me.

Hard-boiled eggs three times a day
Wet as beavers, we hit the hay
Not much sleep, but great good pay!
My girl's waiting for me.

Big French Joe and I went out
To break the jam where the logs gave out
"Preneur guarde!" I heard him shout,
My girl's waiting for me.

Big French Joe, the logs drowned him
He had no chance to fight or swim
Where the logs run up to the river's brim
My girl's waiting for me.

His girl comes to me and cries
If he is dead then I shall die
"mon petit" he used to sigh
My girl's waiting for me.

We will find him down below
'Round the bend where the water is slow
Floating with his pike in tow
My girl's waiting for me.

Mon Petit wrings her hands
While we scrape away at the yellow sand
And bury him by the river strand
My girl's waiting for me.

One more night and one more day
And the logs will reach the river bay
And I'll skin off these togs and I will say
My girl's waiting for me.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Mar 03 - 02:58 AM

My French is basically high-school level, but I'd guess the words you're looking for are "prenez garde" which would mean "take care" or "look out!"

"Mon petit" is a bit more of a problem since those words are both masculine in form. "Ma petite" would be more appropriate to describe a woman.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: Barry Finn
Date: 20 Dec 08 - 12:56 AM

Tonight I was just at a session with Jeff & asked him to sing this & after asked him about some background. He said that there's some question as to weither Jeanne Robert Foster actually wrote this or collected it. All else is as George Wards states above.

Hi George, if I knew you sang this I'd have been bugging you like I bug Jeff, now I can ease up on Jeff a little & you can take on some of his load. See you next time

Barry

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: Barry Finn
Date: 20 Dec 08 - 01:00 AM

I should say that at the same session (Press Room, NH) Chris followed Jeff's River Driver song with the other River Driver song that's been posted here, they make a pair that beats a full house.

Barry

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: Barry Finn
Date: 20 Dec 08 - 01:18 AM

You can hear a sample of Jeff Warner doing River Driving. Slightly different from the words posted above but one hell of a song.

Barry

Subject: Lyr Add: RIVER DRIVING (from Jeanne Robert Foster)
From: Barry Finn
Date: 20 Dec 08 - 01:34 AM

One more post & that'll do

After floating around between Jeff's site & his Cd baby sites I found the lyrics he sings

River Driving
Text collected by Jeanne Robert Foster, ca. 1916.

River driving on the Sacondog,
Floating on the slippery logs,
Sleeping in the frozen bog,
My girl's waiting for me.

Hard-boiled eggs three times a day,
Wet as beavers we hit the hay,
Not much sleep, but great good pay,
My girl's waiting for me.

Big French Joe and I went out,
To break the jam when I heard him shout,
"Prenez garde!" and the jam went out,
My girl's waiting for me.

Big French Joe, the logs drowned him,
He had no chance to fight nor swim,
With the logs jammed up to the river's rim,
My girl's waiting for me.

His girl comes to me and cries,
"If he's dead then I shall die,
'Ma petite,' he used to sigh,"
My girl's waiting for me.

We will find him down below,
Around the bend where the water is slow,
Floating with his pike in tow,
My girl's waiting for me.

"Ma petite" will wring her hands,
As we scrape away at the yellow sand,
And bury him by the river's strand,
My girl's waiting for me.

One more night and one more day,
And the logs will reach the river bay,
And I'll skin off these togs and I will say,
My girl's waiting for me.


Happy Trails
Barry

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: GUEST,Jon Dudley
Date: 20 Dec 08 - 04:01 AM

Just for the record, you can also hear Jeff Warner's erstwhile musical partner Jeff Davis singing this great song on his CD 'Some Fabulous Yonder'. Beautiful it is too. The sleeve notes alone are worth the price of this album (sorry if that sounds like saying how much you admire the frame of The Mona Lisa - it's not meant to).

Both these chaps make a great job of a stunning song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: Dave Ruch
Date: 20 Dec 08 - 10:13 AM

I was interested to learn that Adirondack woodsman Lawrence Older (1912-1982), who was recorded for Folk Legacy records and known to many here from earlier days of the revival, had put his own tune to these same lyrics. I have a recording of him performing it at 1964 concert, which would pre-date Dan Berggren's great setting.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Jul 20 - 10:11 PM

Jeff Warner has this version on his Website:

River Driving
Text collected by Jeanne Robert Foster, ca. 1916.

River driving on the Sacondog,
Floating on the slippery logs,
Sleeping in the frozen bog,
My girl’s waiting for me.

Hard-boiled eggs three times a day,
Wet as beavers we hit the hay,
Not much sleep, but great good pay,
My girl’s waiting for me.

Big French Joe and I went out,
To break the jam when I heard him shout,
“Prenez garde!” and the jam went out,
My girl’s waiting for me.

Big French Joe, the logs drowned him,
He had no chance to fight nor swim,
With the logs jammed up to the river’s rim,
My girl’s waiting for me.

His girl comes to me and cries,
“If he’s dead then I shall die,
‘Ma petite,’ he used to sigh,”
My girl’s waiting for me.

We will find him down below,
Around the bend where the water is slow,
Floating with his pike in tow,
My girl’s waiting for me.

“Ma petite” will wring her hands,
As we scrape away at the yellow sand,
And bury him by the river’s strand,
My girl’s waiting for me.

One more night and one more day,
And the logs will reach the river bay,
And I’ll skin off these togs and I will say,
My girl’s waiting for me.

http://jeffwarner.com/JTlyrics.html

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: mg
Date: 05 Jul 20 - 09:56 PM

i have a compilation disk of river driving songs. $10 with cover, $5 without, plus shipping. Just PM me . includes many mentioned above plus some newer or more obscure ones. probably a few people from mudcat on it but cant remember offhand.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: Zhenya
Date: 06 Jul 20 - 01:18 AM

Another recording of the other song mentioned above on 2-22-03, “The River Driver's Lament”, is by Newfoundland singer Matthew Byrne. His title is “The River Driver” and it's on his album “Horizon Lines”. I have some of the recordings mentioned here for the other song, “River Driving” and like both songs.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: GUEST,John Bowden (not a typo!)
Date: 06 Jul 20 - 07:33 AM

Two recordings of River Driving - one by Jeff Davis here

and by Jeff Warner here

One of my favourite songs sung by two of my favourite singers!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: Brian Peters
Date: 06 Jul 20 - 02:53 PM

Thanks, John, for putting those clips up. Tim O'Brien sings it too - one of three songs he learned of Jeff Davis's CD. I still prefer Jeff's version though - possibly because I played it with him a hundred times, and it was always one of our own favourites in the set.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: River Driving
From: GUEST,John Bowden (not a typo!)
Date: 06 Jul 20 - 04:06 PM

It's lovely isn't it Brian? I've seen Jeff D. sing it a couple of times, and I always love his laid-back, gentle syncopated style of singing (as with everything he sings!). By the way, I've just caught up with your and Jeff's Sharp presentation for the Library of Congress - lovely stuff!