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about

On their days off, loggers working in BC’s forestry industry would escape the monotony of the camps by visiting the city. The Grand Hotel was a popular place on Granville Street in Vancouver that was run by Thomas J. Roberts. This Tommy of the song was well known for his generosity and his moustache. This song describes the inevitable return to the endless flow of work after a predictable stint in town.

lyrics

There’s a place in Vancouver you all know so well,
It’s a place where they keep rotgut whiskey to sell.
They also keep borders and keep’em like hell,
And the name of the place is the Grand Hotel.

In the Grand Hotel when the loggers come in,
It’s amusing to see the proprietor grin.
He knows they’ve got money, he’ll soon have it all;
“Come on boys have a drink!” you can hear Tommy call.

Oh the bartender laughs as the money rolls in;
They drink beer and whiskey, champagne, rum and gin,
Till they all get so boozy they can’t drink no more,
And the loggers lay scattered all over the floor.

In the morning the loggers wake up from their bed
Their money’s all gone and, Oh Lord, what a head!
They rush for the bar, and they call for a drink,
And Tommy get’s busy a-slinging the ink:

“Four bits for your bed though you slept on the floor,
And the breakfast you missed, that will be four bits more;
And a four-dollar meal-ticket, good at the bar,
And a pass back to camp on the old Cassiar.”

credits

from Settler's Songs of the Pacific Northwest, released June 2, 2017
Sung to Philip Thomas by Bennett King Lesley in Vancouver in 1975.

Thomas, Philip J., and Shirley A. Cox. Songs of the Pacific Northwest. Ed. Jon Bartlett. 2nd ed. Surrey, BC: Hancock House, 2007. Print. pgs 148-1491, 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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