[thechat] Canadian Culture Test
Martin
martin at members.evolt.org
Sat Apr 27 18:19:00 CDT 2002
On Saturday, April 27, 2002, at 11:42 pm, dave mclean wrote:
>> Although I have to take issue with this:
>> "You still identify somewhat with England or France."
>> All the English emigrants went to the US. I would guess that there's
>> more Canadian linkage with Scotland (eh, Dave?)
>
>
> Aye!
>
> There's actually a song by Spirit of the West (A folk/celtic band)
> called
> The Old Sod which is all about the Scots in Canada.
Some more:
O Mo Dhùthaich
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O mo dhùthaich 's tu th'air m'aire
Uibhist chùmhraidh ùr nan gallan
Far a faighte na daoin' uaisle
Far 'm bu dual do Mhac 'ic Ailein.
Oh, my country you are on my mind
fresh, fragrant Uist of the saplings
Where the noble men are found
Who gave their hereditary allegiance to
'Mac ic Ailein'
Tìr a mhurain, tìr an eòrna
Tìr 's am pailt a h-uile seòrsa
Far am bi na gillean òga
Gabhail òran 's 'g òl an leanna.
Land of bent grass, land of barley
Land of abundance of every kind
Where the young lads will be
Singing songs and drinking beer.
Thig iad ugainn, carach, seòlta
Gus ar mealladh far ar n-eòlais
Molaidh iad dhuinn Manitòba
Dùthaich fhuar gun ghual, gun mhòine
They will come to us deceitful and cunning
In order to entice us from our homes
They will praise Manitoba to us
A cold country with no coal and no peat!
Rocket To The Moon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here hangs an open landscape
A wild and huge frontier
From a harsh and a barren wasteland
Through the grave to the promised field
You came, you trapped, you charted
You laid the railroads and the schemes
And you tamed this land by enterprise
And by the power of your dreams
But you made this Clan great
And you made this nation bloom
And you rose
With your people through the new world
Like a rocket to the moon
From the olden coasts of Ireland
From the Hebridean shores
With the forgotten chosen ones
Running from Europe in droves
(Chorus)
There's a town in Manitoba
They say the windows touch the sky
But across the brine the shipyards close
In this garden flowers die
Still the homelands divide us
Like your blood red brothers of the plains
But where they grieve a candle still burns
A prayer from a flicker to a flame
The Cutter
~~~~~~~~~
When you arrived in Canada you walked the streets
Out of work out of money, prospects bleak
Now the plane comes down from the morning sky
and you touch the land where the fire won't die
Chorus:
Johnny, you're home, man
It's a long road
you drove us down
It's only a moment
Since the diesels turned
Now the blade cuts clean through the island soil
The years roll back and the world grows small
You stand on the banks in the wind and the rain
And all of your money can't hide this pain
(Chorus)
The heath flame is burning bright
burning every night
It's winter in Ontario
The wheels that turned us village kids
Still carry through the heaths
They no longer turn for you
So you hold your mother and you bless the air
With the tears of the emigrant, tongue of the Gael
And the plane takes off in a clear blue sky
Life's a long lost list of last goodbyes
(Chorus)
Canada
~~~~~~~
A prairie and a wind
Canada on the wire
I'm trading all my fears
And all my desires
I watch your sun go down
A burning amber road
Following the ghosts
Wherever they go
'S chan fhaic mi cladach geal
No achadh cruithneachd 'fas
Gun sealladh mor de chradh
'S dealbh de bhas
A window on the stars
the journey of the few
Watching it all survive
It's all I can do
Cheers
Martin
_______________________________________________
email: martin at easyweb.co.uk PGP ID: 0xA835CCCB
martin at members.evolt.org snailmail: 30 Shandon Place
tel: +44 (0)774 063 9985 Edinburgh,
url: http://www.easyweb.co.uk Scotland
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