Around cream teas and apple trees
there blows a rowdy shanty air
from olden days and working quays
and men that tumbled timber there.
There blows a rowdy shanty air
on easterlies off far Quebec
and men that tumbled timber there
from white pine forests onto deck.
On easterlies off far Quebec
the strains of engines hauling logs
from white pine forests onto deck
and voices singing through sea fogs.
The strains of engines hauling logs
the donkey works of strength and skill
and voices singing through sea fogs
cross ploughing fields to meet Snowshill.
The donkey works of strength and skill
from olden days and working quays
cross ploughing fields to meet Snowshill
around cream teas and apple trees.
* * *
The dance ‘Quebec ’
made for a rousing performance at Snowshill, with many of the audience members
singing along to the familiar tune ‘Donkey Riding’.
I had in mind to acknowledge the lyrics of ‘Donkey Riding’
in my poem inspired by ‘Quebec ’,
so once again I approached Mrs T. for performance notes. Mrs T. explained that
no one in Happenstance seems to know the lyrics beyond the first verse and
chorus. Also, strictly speaking, no lyrics are included in the performance, but
since the chorus was sung with such enthusiasm at Snowshill I decided to research
the song for the poem.
It turns out that the ‘donkey’ of ‘Donkey Riding’ is thought
by some to refer to a donkey engine, used by sailors to load logs on board
ships sailing from Quebec
and other places. The song itself was sung by the sailors as they worked.
There’s more information via links at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey_Riding
and one version of the full lyrics is available at http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/song-midis/Donkey_Riding.htm
(I don’t venture beyond Quebec ,
just in keeping with the Morris dance title).
The form of this poem is pantoum, last written for
‘Isbourne’. To my untrained eyes, ‘Quebec ’
seems to involve a lot of spins, as the pantoum has a sense of rotation through
its line patternings. And there’s a nod to the figure called ‘ploughing the
field’ in the fourth and final verses.
