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If you ask any girl from the parish around,
What pleases her most from her head to her toes;
She'll say, "I'm not sure that it's business of yours,
But I do like to waltz with a log driver."
For he goes birling down a-down white water,
That's where the log driver learns to step lightly;
It's birling down, a-down white water,
A log driver's waltz pleases girls completely.
When the drive's nearly over, I like to go down
To see all the lads as they work on the river;
I know that come evening they'll be in the town,
And we all want to waltz with a log driver.
For he goes birling down a-down white water,
That's where the log driver learns to step lightly;
It's birling down, a-down white water,
A log driver's waltz pleases girls completely.
To please both my parents I've had to give way,
And dance with the doctors and the merchants and lawyers;
Their manners are fine but their feet are of clay,
And there's none with the style of a log driver.
For he goes birling down a-down white water,
That's where the log driver learns to step lightly;
It's birling down, a-down white water,
A log driver's waltz pleases girls completely.
Now I've had my chances with all sorts of men,
There's none is so fine as my lad on the river;
And when the drive's over, if he asks me again,
I think I will marry my log driver.
For he goes birling down a-down white water,
That's where the log driver learns to step lightly;
It's birling down, a-down white water,
A log driver's waltz pleases girls completely.
Birling down, a-down white water,
A log driver's waltz pleases girls completely.
Recorded by Wade Hemsworth (The Songs Of Wade Hemsworth, trk#6, 1995, CD produced by Penny Rose and edited by Simon Pressey for Good Noise).
See more songs by Wade Hemsworth.
From Princeton University's WordNet:
Birling — causing a floating log to rotate by treading; logrolling — rotating a log rapidly in the water (as a competitive sport).
Also recorded by Kate and Anna McGarrigle for the 1979 lighthearted, animated short film by John Weldon, one of the most often-requested films in the National Film Board of Canada collection. See video below:
