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Yesterday Stompin' Tom Connors passed away.
You may never have heard of him, but if you've ever been to a hockey game where music has been played over the PA, then you have heard his music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stompin'_Tom_Connors
Other than the likes of Gordon Lightfoot, and perhaps a couple more, nobody captured the essence of what Canada is really all about in song better than he did.
Not exactly high poetry as can be seen in one of my favourites, Sudbury Saturday Night:
"The girls are out to Bingo and the boys are gettin' stinko,
And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
The glasses they will tinkle when our eyes begin to twinkle,
And we'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
With Irish Jim O'Connel there and Scotty Jack MacDonald,
There's honky Fredrick Hurchell gettin' tight, but that's alright,
There's happy German Fritzy there with Frenchy getting tipsy,
And even Joe the Gypsy knows it's Saturday tonight.
Now when Mary Ann and Mabel come to join us at the table,
And tell us how the Bingo went tonight, we'll look a fright.
But if they won the money, we'll be lappin' up the honey, boys,
'Cause everything is funny, for it's Saturday tonight
The girls are out to Bingo and the boys are gettin' stinko,
And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
The glasses they will tinkle when our eyes begin to twinkle,
And we'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
We'll drink the loot we borrowed and recuperate tomorrow,
'Cause everything is wonderful tonight, we had a good fight,
We ate the Dilly Pickle and we forgot about the Nickel,
And everybody's tickled, for it's Saturday tonight
The songs that we'll be singing, they might be wrong but they'll be ringing,
When the lights of town are shining bright, and we're all tight,
We'll get to work on Monday, but tomorrow's only Sunday,
And we're out to have a fun day for it's Saturday tonight. Yeah
The girls are out to Bingo and the boys are gettin' stinko,
And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
The glasses they will tinkle when our eyes begin to twinkle,
And we'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
We'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night."
America may have had Paul Bunyan, but Stompin' Tom made sure that Canada knew all about its own Big Joe Mufferaw.
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Big Joe Mufferaw paddled into Mattawa
all the way from Ottawa in just one day
Hey-Hey
On the river Ottawa the best man we ever saw
was Big Joe Mufferaw the old folks say
Come and listen and I'll tell you what the old folks say
And they say Big Joe had an old pet frog
bigger than a horse and he barked like a dog
And the only thing quicker than a train upon a track
was Big Joe riding on the bull-frog's back
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
And they say Big Joe used to get real wet
from cutting down timber and working up a sweat
And everyone will tell you around Carlton Place
the Mississipi dripped onto Big Joe's face
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Now Joe had the portage from the Gattineau down
to see a little girl he had in Kempville town
He was back and forth so many times to see that gal
the path he wore became the Rideau Canal
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Big Joe Mufferaw paddled into Mattawa
all the way from Ottawa in just one day
Hey-Hey
On the river Ottawa the best man we ever saw
was Big Joe Mufferaw the old folks say
Come and listen and I'll tell you what the old folks say
And they say Big Joe put out a forest fire,
halfway between Renfrew and old Arnprior
He was fifty miles away down around Smith Falls
but he drowneded out the fire with five spit balls
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Well he jumped into the Calabogie Lake real fast
and he swam both ways to catch a cross-eyed-bass
But he threw it on the ground and said "I can't eat that"
So he covered it over with Mount Saint Patt
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
And they say Big Joe drank a bucket of gin
And he beat the living tar of the twenty nine men
And high on the ceiling of the Pembroke Pub
There is twenty-nine boot marks and they are signed with love
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Big Joe Mufferaw paddled into Mattawa
all the way from Ottawa in just one day
Hey-Hey
On the river Ottawa the best man we ever saw
was Big Joe Mufferaw the old folks say
Come and listen and I'll tell you what the old folks say
They say Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw,
Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw,
Big Joe Mufferaw
As someone born and raised in the Ottawa Valley, this resonates with me.
Stompin' Tom Connors will be greatly missed.
Jeff
You may never have heard of him, but if you've ever been to a hockey game where music has been played over the PA, then you have heard his music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stompin'_Tom_Connors
Other than the likes of Gordon Lightfoot, and perhaps a couple more, nobody captured the essence of what Canada is really all about in song better than he did.
Not exactly high poetry as can be seen in one of my favourites, Sudbury Saturday Night:
"The girls are out to Bingo and the boys are gettin' stinko,
And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
The glasses they will tinkle when our eyes begin to twinkle,
And we'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
With Irish Jim O'Connel there and Scotty Jack MacDonald,
There's honky Fredrick Hurchell gettin' tight, but that's alright,
There's happy German Fritzy there with Frenchy getting tipsy,
And even Joe the Gypsy knows it's Saturday tonight.
Now when Mary Ann and Mabel come to join us at the table,
And tell us how the Bingo went tonight, we'll look a fright.
But if they won the money, we'll be lappin' up the honey, boys,
'Cause everything is funny, for it's Saturday tonight
The girls are out to Bingo and the boys are gettin' stinko,
And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
The glasses they will tinkle when our eyes begin to twinkle,
And we'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
We'll drink the loot we borrowed and recuperate tomorrow,
'Cause everything is wonderful tonight, we had a good fight,
We ate the Dilly Pickle and we forgot about the Nickel,
And everybody's tickled, for it's Saturday tonight
The songs that we'll be singing, they might be wrong but they'll be ringing,
When the lights of town are shining bright, and we're all tight,
We'll get to work on Monday, but tomorrow's only Sunday,
And we're out to have a fun day for it's Saturday tonight. Yeah
The girls are out to Bingo and the boys are gettin' stinko,
And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
The glasses they will tinkle when our eyes begin to twinkle,
And we'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night.
We'll think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday night."
America may have had Paul Bunyan, but Stompin' Tom made sure that Canada knew all about its own Big Joe Mufferaw.
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Big Joe Mufferaw paddled into Mattawa
all the way from Ottawa in just one day
Hey-Hey
On the river Ottawa the best man we ever saw
was Big Joe Mufferaw the old folks say
Come and listen and I'll tell you what the old folks say
And they say Big Joe had an old pet frog
bigger than a horse and he barked like a dog
And the only thing quicker than a train upon a track
was Big Joe riding on the bull-frog's back
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
And they say Big Joe used to get real wet
from cutting down timber and working up a sweat
And everyone will tell you around Carlton Place
the Mississipi dripped onto Big Joe's face
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Now Joe had the portage from the Gattineau down
to see a little girl he had in Kempville town
He was back and forth so many times to see that gal
the path he wore became the Rideau Canal
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Big Joe Mufferaw paddled into Mattawa
all the way from Ottawa in just one day
Hey-Hey
On the river Ottawa the best man we ever saw
was Big Joe Mufferaw the old folks say
Come and listen and I'll tell you what the old folks say
And they say Big Joe put out a forest fire,
halfway between Renfrew and old Arnprior
He was fifty miles away down around Smith Falls
but he drowneded out the fire with five spit balls
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Well he jumped into the Calabogie Lake real fast
and he swam both ways to catch a cross-eyed-bass
But he threw it on the ground and said "I can't eat that"
So he covered it over with Mount Saint Patt
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
And they say Big Joe drank a bucket of gin
And he beat the living tar of the twenty nine men
And high on the ceiling of the Pembroke Pub
There is twenty-nine boot marks and they are signed with love
Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Big Joe Mufferaw paddled into Mattawa
all the way from Ottawa in just one day
Hey-Hey
On the river Ottawa the best man we ever saw
was Big Joe Mufferaw the old folks say
Come and listen and I'll tell you what the old folks say
They say Hey-Hi, Hey-Hi-Ho, the best man in Ottawa was Mufferaw Joe,
Mufferaw Joe
Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw,
Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw, Big Joe Mufferaw,
Big Joe Mufferaw
As someone born and raised in the Ottawa Valley, this resonates with me.
Stompin' Tom Connors will be greatly missed.
Jeff
