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Oh, this is the place where the fishermen gather,
With oilskins and boots and Cape Anns battened down;
All sizes of figures with squid lines and jiggers,
They congregate here on the squid-jiggin' ground.
Some are working their jiggers while others are yarning,
There's some standing up and there's more lying down;
While all kinds of fun, jokes and tricks are begun,
As they wait for the squid on the squid-jiggin' ground.
There's men of all ages and boys in the bargain,
There's old Billy Cave and there's young Raymond Brown;
There's a red ranting Tory out here in a dory,
A-running down Squires on the squid-jiggin' ground.
There's men from the Harbour, there's men from the Tickle,
In all kinds of motorboats, green, grey and brown;
Right yonder there's Bobby and with him is Noddy,
He's chawing hardtack on the squid-jiggin' ground.
Oh, God bless my sou'wester, there's Skipper John Chaffey,
He's the best hand at squid jiggin here, I'll be bound;
Hello, what's the row? Why he's jiggin' one now,
It's the very first squid on the squid-jiggin' ground.
Now, the man with the whiskers is old Jacob Steele,
He's getting well up but he's still pretty sound;
While Uncle Bob Hawkins wears six pairs of stockings,
Whenever he's out on the squid-jiggin' ground.
Holy smoke! What a scuffle, all hands are excited,
'Tis a wonder to me that there's nobody drowned;
There's confusion, a bustle, a wonderful hustle,
They're all jiggin squids on the squid-jiggin' ground.
Says Bobby, "The squids are on top of the water,
I just got my jiggers 'bout one fathom down."
But a squid in the boat squirted right down his throat,
And he's swearing like mad on the squid-jiggin' ground.
There's poor Uncle Billy, his whiskers are spattered,
With spots of the squid juice that's flying around;
One poor little boy got it right in the eye,
But they don't give a darn on the squid-jiggin' ground.
Now, if ever you feel so inclined to go squidding,
Leave your white shirts and collars behind in the town;
And if you get cranky without your silk hanky,
You'd better steer clear of the squid-jiggin' ground.
Notes:
Squid-Jiggin' Ground became Newfoundland's first local hit record when it sold 15,000 copies in 1943. Art Scammell composed it for a high school project in 1928 when he was 15 years old. On April 1, 1949, the carillon in the Peace Tower in Ottawa played it as Canada welcomed Newfoundland into Confederation.
Published in Gerald S. Doyle's Old-Time Songs And Poetry Of Newfoundland: Songs Of The People From The Days Of Our Forefathers (Second edition, pp.66-67, 1940; Third edition, pp.57-58, 1955). Also published on p.12 of Songs Of Newfoundland, a complimentary booklet of lyrics to twenty-one songs distributed by the Bennett Brewing Co. Ltd., of St. John's, NL, with the cooperation of the Gerald S. Doyle Song Book from which the words were obtained. Also published in Art Scammel's book, My Newfoundland, pp.116-117 (Harvest House, Montreal, 1966).
Variants of this song were collected from Reginald Sheaves (b.1897) of Port aux Basques, Maude Sullivan (1908-1987) of Calvert, Mary Whalen (1915-1997) of Cape Broyle, and a guitar instrumental by Eddy Primroy (1928-1999) of Pouch Cove, NL, all published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).
Also recorded by Schooner Fare (Closer To The Wind, 1981)
See more songs by Arthur J. Scammell.
See more songs by Schooner Fare.
From the Dictionary Of Newfoundland English:
Cape Ann - A fisherman's oilskin cap with broad brim, sloping at
the back, and side flaps tied under the chin; sou'wester.
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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.
(As recorded by Schooner Fare)
(Capo 2nd fret)
Intro: [A] [D] [E] [A]
Oh, this is the place where the fishermen gather,
With [D] oilskins and [A] boots and Cape [E] Anns battened [D] down;
All sizes of figures with [A] squid lines and jiggers,
They congregate here on the [E] squid-jiggin' [A] ground.
Some are working their jiggers while others are yarning,
There's [D] some standing [A] up and there's [E] more lying [D] down;
While all kinds of fun, jokes and [A] tricks are begun,
As they wait for the squid on the [E] squid-jiggin' [A] ground.
There's men of all ages and boys in the bargain,
There's [D] old Billy [A] Cave and there's [E] young Raymond [D] Brown;
There's a red ranting Tory out [A] here in a dory,
A-running down Squires on the [E] squid-jiggin' [A] ground.
There's men from the Harbour, there's men from the Tickle,
In [D] all kinds of [A] motorboats, [E] green, grey and [D] brown;
Right yonder there's Bobby and [A] with him is Noddy,
He's chawing hardtack on the [E] squid-jiggin' [A] ground.
Oh, God bless my sou'wester, there's Skipper John Chaffey,
He's the [D] best hand at [A] squid jiggin [E] here, I'll be [D] bound;
Hello, what's the row? Why he's [A] jiggin' one now,
It's the very first squid on the [E] squid-jiggin' [A] ground.
Now, the man with the whiskers is old Jacob Steele,
He's [D] getting well [A] up but he's [E] still pretty [D] sound;
While Uncle Bob Hawkins wears [A] six pairs of stockings,
Whenever he's out on the [E] squid-jiggin' [A] ground.
Holy smoke! What a scuffle, all hands are excited,
'Tis a [D] wonder to [A] me that there's [E] nobody [D] drowned;
There's confusion, a bustle, a [A] wonderful hustle,
They're all jiggin squids on the [E] squid-jiggin' [A] ground.
Says Bobby, "The squids are on top of the water,
I [D] just got my [A] jiggers 'bout [E] one fathom [D] down."
But a squid in the boat squirted [A] right down his throat,
And he's swearing like mad on the [E] squid-jiggin' [A] ground.
There's poor Uncle Billy, his whiskers are spattered,
With [D] spots of the [A] squid juice that's [E] flying [D] around;
One poor little boy got it [A] right in the eye,
But they don't give a darn on the [E] squid-jiggin' [A] ground.
Now, if ever you feel so inclined to go squidding,
Leave your [D] white shirts and [A] collars be- [E] hind in the [D] town;
And if you get cranky with- [A] out your silk hanky,
You'd better steer clear of the [E] squid-jiggin' [A] ground.
~ Chords contributed by Bob Dumais ~
