Here are the same lyrics with the glossary notes placed at the bottom, a link added regarding Assynt, and a couple minor typos corrected. (Maeve) ******************************************* Coll MacKenzie
My name is Coll MacKenzie and I'll have you understand That I am an Assynt crofter bound out for Newfoundland * I lost my darling Catherine, she died in giving birth And to raise three sons without her was the hardest thing on earth They've grown and gone to Glasgow to face the factory's row And their work is hard and crueller than a deer yoked to the plough I'd laboured seven years just to pay my tax and fees * When a letter came from Canada that brought the saddest news My brother drowned off St. John's in the spring of '53 And his widow wrote to say that she'd be well disposed to me She sent along a likeness from a Callotype salon * In her fancy frock and parasol with her Sunday bonnet on
There's nothing here to keep me the bracken's soured the land And the fishing's lean and lonesome when you're sailing single hand So I set off for Liverpool to work my passage o'er On a leaky, tarry clipper called the Queen of Baltimore I had no boots or oilskins to keep me dry and warm Just my bauchly brogues and plaidie to keep me from the storm *
I arrived in Boston a weak and a weary man And I jumped a Grand Bank Schooner bound north for Newfoundland They listened to my story as we sat around the stove And they wondered at the journey I'd made for sake of love They fed me beef and salt cod, sourdough and cans of tea And I was hale and hearty when we reached the St. John's quay
They lead me to a cabin that stood about the bay And they laughed and joked together as they went on their way My knock was answered swiftly by a woman of fine grace When I asked for widow Janet a grin broke o'er her face "If you be Coll MacKenzie", the handsome woman smiled "Then it is my younger sister that has you so beguiled". She showed me to the parlour where there to my surprise Sat my elder brother Angus full fit before my eyes The lassie in the likeness was standing by the door And we all embraced each other, the happiest of four And they pointed to a clinker straight a-sailing on the bay Crewed by three sons of Assynt I thought were far away
My name is Coll MacKenzie and I'll have you understand That I am a St. John's fisherman come o'er from fair Scotland
Archie Fisher 2006 Inspired by a combination of folk tale and history. ~~~~~~ * Glossary Notes: