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Various iterations of this traditional railway worker’s song can be found throughout North America. This variation of Drill Ye Terriers documents the toil and strife that workers endured working on the Crowsnest Pass Railway line, the section of the Canadian Pacific Line that connected BC to the rest of Canada.

lyrics

Every morning at 7 o’clock
You can hear a gang of terriers drilling in the rock;
The foreman yells, “now don’t stand still
Come down heavy on that god damn drill!”

Then it’s drill ye terriers drill,
Drill ye terriers drill,
For we work all day without sugar in our tea
When we work on the CP Railway,
So it’s drill ye terriers drill.

The boss sent us to drill a hole,
And he cursed and damned our Irish souls,
He cursed the ship that brought us through,
To work on the CP railway crew.

Our boarding-boss was from Cork’s own town,
And he married a widow a very far down.
She baked his bread and she baked it well,
And she baked it harder than the hobbs of hell.

D. McDonald’s our walking-boss,
And it’s him that kicks up the devil’s own fuss,
And if you ask him for some time,
He’ll send you further down the line.

Now all you teamsters you beware,
And of your horses take great care,
And when you do go to turn them round,
Don’t make them go over the dumping ground.

credits

from Settler's Songs of the Pacific Northwest, released June 2, 2017
Original text credited to Irish American Thomas F. Casey; published in 1888, although many railroad workers in Western Canada allegedly added verses.

Features Michael Wagner on Bass and Lucy Brooke on Vocals

Thomas, Philip J., and Shirley A. Cox. Songs of the Pacific Northwest. Ed. Jon Bartlett. 2nd ed. Surrey, BC: Hancock House, 2007. Print. pgs 108-111, 202.

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Katie Green and Karen Hefford Vancouver, British Columbia

katieandkaren.com


Katie Green and Karen Hefford are two musicians from Vancouver who combine classical and folk music influences. Their close-knit harmonies and varied instrumentation bring a fresh interpretation to traditional songs. ... more

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