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I'll tell you a tale about Newfoundland dear,
We haven't got money or riches to spare;
But we can be thankful for one small affair,
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
The sea, oh the sea, the wonderful sea,
Long may she roll between people and me;
And everyone here should get down on one knee,
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
But the Englishmen came from Land's End to John o' Groat's,
They came over to ride our colonial goat;
We'd have eight million more but they didn't have boats,
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
The sea, oh the sea, the wonderful sea,
Long may she roll between people and me;
And everyone here should get down on one knee,
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
Some visitors tasted our Newfoundland screech,
Tipped up the bottle, drank six ounces each;
And they let out a yell as they ran for our beach,
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
The sea, oh the sea, the wonderful sea,
Long may she roll between people and me;
And everyone here should get down on one knee,
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
Now, Bessie Joe Kemp took her horse for a ride,
She ripped her old bloomers way up the left side;
And she hung them to dry on the beach at low tide,
Oh, thank God we're surrounded by water.
The sea, oh the sea, the wonderful sea,
Long may she roll between Bessie and me;
And everyone here should get down on one knee,
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
The French in Quebec want a separate state,
Including our own Labrador, just you wait;
They came down to Bell Isle but they can't walk our Strait,
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
The sea, oh the sea, the wonderful sea,
Long may she roll between people and me;
And everyone here should get down on one knee,
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
Now Joey was God, said the Liberal bunch,
One day on our harbour he walked after lunch;
But he couldn't quite make that old Galilee stunt,
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
The sea, oh the sea, the wonderful sea,
Long may she roll between Joey and me;
And everyone here should get down on one knee,
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
Thank God we're surrounded by water.
This variant recorded by Joan Morrissey (Home Brew, trk#2, 1973, Marathon Music Inc., Toronto, Ontario).
See more songs by Joan Morrissey.
Joseph R (Joey) Smallwood [1900-1991] - first premier of Newfoundland, 1949-1972.
From the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: John o' Groat's - a locality in North Scotland popularly considered the most north-easterly settlement in mainland Britain.
From Wikipedia: Land's End - a headland in Cornwall, England, the most westerly tip of the southern mainland. The name has a particular resonance because it is so often used in outlining the length of Britain when races, walks and charitable events take place between Land's End and the Scottish village John o' Groats (the most north-easterly settlement in mainland Britain). The phrase Land's End to John o' Groats is used both as a literal journey and as a metaphor for great or all-encompassing distance, similar to the American phrase coast to coast.
