Just to mess things up, I just listened to the recording on the James Gordon CD. Wouldn't you know Margo Timmins sings it with Gordan. She does the first two verses and I swear she sings "slope". "slope" at least keeps the meaning somewhat similar. Let me add James Gordon's liner notes from that recroding for a little extra background.

"My first 'original historical song.' I owe a lot to the Cowboy Junkies for its endurance. I based it on a traditional British Columbia ballad called "Taku Miners" collected by Phil Thomas in his great book "Songs of the Pacific North West". Tamaarack recorded it in 1983 on our "Pleasant Gale" album, and I think it was the first time an original song appeared on our otherwise traditional recordings. When Jeff Bird left the band in 1988 he joined the Cowboy Junkies, and he brought this song with him. Margo Timmins' haunting version of it on the Junkies' famous "Trinity Sessions" album made it a hit, and I have to say that it's paid a lot of bills fro me! I once heard the song performed live in Newfoundland by some traditional singers who thought I was mad when I came up and introduced myself as its author. Some years later the song became, oddly enough, the soundtrack for a NIKE running shoe TV commercial. Margo only sang the first part of the song. This version features the two of us singing the whole thing together, which was a thrill for me. Recorded live at Tamarack's 15th anniversary concert."

Gordan's full song has 9 quatrains, I don't know how much of it is in the lyrics some of you have looked at.

cookielessme