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Long before the white man came to haul the shining cod,
When the wild and stately caribou traversed the snow-clad sod,
The native man he walked these hills and he fished the silvery lakes,
Content with what the land would yield not one bit more would take.
But soon the word it was put out to every country,
For to find a northern passage from the sea to the shining sea;
And the first to come were trappers, then the men of God who preached,
That they would return in hundredfold an equal share to each.
For years the men of Newfoundland, those fishermen so poor,
Sent down each year in springtime for to fish on the Labrador;
But soon the fish they were all gone with the fur it was the same,
And the native suffered silently in the land God gave to Cain.
The years went by, and as time passed the companies moved in,
For ore, and wood, and the hydro power the struggle it did begin;
And the working men on both sides tried to live their lives the same,
And the native suffered silently in the land God gave to Cain.
But now it's for the future both sides do shed a tear,
For the old ways they are passing like the caribou and hare;
And now they all are wondering if it was all in vain,
And the native suffers silently in the land God gave to Cain.
Recorded by Pat and Joe Byrne from Great Paradise with Baxter Wareham from Harbour Buffett, Placentia Bay, NL (Towards The Sunset, trk#12, 1983, Pigeon Inlet, St. John's NL, recorded at Echo Music and Recording Ltd. Re-issued on CD in 2003).
A variant was recorded by Labrador Black Spruce (Love Of The Land, trk#2, 1992, Black Spruce Music, Labrador City, NL, recorded at CBC Radio and produced by Glen Tilley).
A variant was also recorded by The Flummies (Labradorimuit, trk#14, 2000, World Replication Group, Toronto, ON, recorded at Sim's Studio in Belleoram, NL, and produced by The Flummies and Sim Savory).
The YouTube video above features and excellent guitar performance by Tony from Port St. Mary on the Isle of Man, who made the video specifically for GEST.
From The Canadian Encyclopedia / The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada:
The Land God Gave To Cain — description used by French navigator and discoverer of the St. Lawrence River Jacques Cartier [1491-1557] when he first sighted the north shore of the Gulf of St Lawrence (Labrador) in 1534. Cartier was presumably alluding to Genesis 4, in which Cain, having killed his brother, is condemned to till land that is barren.
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Notes On Guitar Tabs:
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All guitar tabs have been contributed by visitors to this site and represent their interpretation of the tune. We are unable to verify their accuracy.
Chord Shape: [Gsus4] = 3,x,0,0,1,3 (E,A,D,G,B,E)
Intro: [D] [D] [Am] [C] [G] [D]
[D] Long before the [D] white man [Am] came to [C] haul the [G] shining [D] cod,
When the wild and stately [D] caribou tra- [G] versed the [Gsus4] snow-clad [A] sod,
The [D] native man he [D] walked these hills and he [G] fished the [Gsus4] silvery [A] lakes,
Con- [D] tent with what the [D] land would [Am] yield not [C] one bit [G] more would [D] take.
But soon the word it [D] was put [Am] out to [C] every [G] count- [D] ry,
For to find a northern [D] passage from the [G] sea to the [Gsus4] shining [A] sea;
And the [D] first to come were [D] trappers, then the [G] men of [Gsus4] God who [A] preached,
That [D] they would return [D] in hundred- [Am] fold an [C] equal [G] share to [D] each.
For years the men of [D] Newfound- [Am] land, those [C] fisher- [G] men so [D] poor, Sent down each year in [D] springtime for to [G] fish on the [Gsus4] Labra- [A] dor; But [D] soon the fish they were all gone with the [G] fur it [Gsus4] was the [A] same, And the [D] native suffered [D] silent- [Am] ly in the [C] land God [G] gave to [D] Cain.
The years went by, and [D] as time [Am] passed the [C] compa- [G] nies moved [D] in,
For ore, and wood, and the hydro power the [G] struggle it [Gsus4] did be- [A] gin;
And the [D] working men [D] on both sides tried to [G] live their [Gsus4] lives the [A] same,
And the [D] native suffered [D] silent- [Am] ly in the [C] land God [G] gave to [D] Cain.
But now it's for the [D] future [Am] both sides [C] do [G] shed a [D] tear,
For the old ways they are [D] passing like the [G] cari- [Gsus4] bou and [A] hare;
And [D] now they all are [D] wondering if [G] it was [Gsus4] all in [A] vain,
And the [D] native suffered [D] silent- [Am] ly in the [C] land God [G] gave to [D] Cain.
~ Chords and MIDI file contributed by Bob Dumais ~
