Shinny On The Ice

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Wait until the bay is froze,
Scrape and shovel off the snow,
Well, the scattered boy had skates,
Scattered toque on from his face;
Wearing rubbers with no grips,
Pipes and planks for hockey sticks,
Well, I know it wasn't nice
Playing hockey on the ice.

After school and Sunday, too,
Made no difference who was who,
We had Rolly for the goalie,
'Cause he was six foot two;
Watch for Ralphie on his skates,
Couldn't turn he'd just go straight,
If he struck he'd take your life,
Playing hockey on the ice.

Oh, when Harv or Bruce or Len,
Shifted the net and fired one in,
Rolly beat him in the face,
But they was all the best of friends;
And if you had to use your fists,
You kept on your woolly mitts,
And they sure got lots of fights,
Playing shinny on the ice.

Scunnin' marbles in the muck,
Playing tiddley after school,
Catching conners off the wharf,
Firing rocks like bloody fools;
Copying pans out in the cove,
Killing frogs or rats or mice,
But there wasn't nothing better than,
Playing hockey on the ice.

We had Bert the referee,
'Cause he saw one on TV,
He made up all the rules,
But no one gave it heed;
And the worse one of the bunch,
Tom would go home for his lunch,
He'd do it just for spite,
Playing hockey on the ice.

Brucie's mother tanned his hide,
For wearing Sunday clothes outside,
For falling in the rent,
Or going off the edge of the ice;
For swearing there was Harv,
Swinging fists right from the start,
He was all bark no bite,
Playing hockey on the ice.

Oh, when the day would end,
And the cold and wet would send
Every boy home to work,
After supper then;
We were soon all off to beds,
The only thing in our heads,
What we dreamt of every night
Was playing hockey on the ice.

Playing hockey (hockey, hockey)
On the bays or ponds or coves,
Playing hockey (hockey, hockey)
As everybody knows.

####.... Kevin Blackmore of Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers (100% Pure, 1993; Greatest Misses, 1999; The Serious Stuff, 2001) ....####

See more songs by Buddy Wasisname And The Other Fellers.

From the Dictionary Of Newfoundland English:
Conner - the blue perch (Tautogolabrus adsperus), a bottom-feeding fish of inshore waters, especially common around wharves and stages.
Copying - jumping from one floating pan of ice to another in a children's game or pastime of following or copying a leader when the ice is breaking up in spring in a cove or harbour.
Pan - a piece of flat ice, varying in size and shape but roughly circular.
Rent - a space or tear in the ice.
Shinny - to jump from one ice-pan to another; copy.

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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.

Wait un- [E] til the bay was froze,
Scrape and [B] shovel off the snow,
Well, the [F#] scattered boy had [F#7] skates,
Scattered [B] toque on from his face;
Wearing [E] rubbers with no grips,
Pipes and [B] planks for hockey [G#m] sticks,
Well, I [B] know it wasn't nice,
Playing hockey [F#] on the [B] ice.

After [E] school and Sunday, too,
Made no [B] difference who was who,
We had [F#] Rolly for the [F#7] goalie,
'Cause [B] he was six foot two;
Watch for [E] Ralphie on his skates,
Couldn't [B] turn he'd just go [G#m] straight,
If he [B] struck he'd take your life,
Playing hockey [F#] on the [B] ice.

Oh, when [E] Harv, Bruce or Len,
Shifted the [B] net and fired one in,
Rolly [F#] beat 'em in the [F#7] face,
But they was [B] all the best of friends;
And if you [E] had to use your fists,
You kept [B] on your woolly [G#m] mitts,
And they sure got [B] lots of fights
Playing shinny [F#] on the [B] ice.

Chorus:
Scunnin' [E] marbles in the muck,
Playing [B] tiddley after school,
Catching [F#] conners off the [F#7] wharf,
Firing [B] rocks like bloody fools;
Copying [E] pans out in the cove,
Killing [B] frogs or rats or [G#m] mice,
But there [B] wasn't nothing better than,
Playing hockey [F#] on the [B] ice!

We had [E] Bert the referee,
'Cause he [B] saw one on TV,
He [F#] made up all the [F#7] rules,
But [B] no one gave it heed;
And the [E] worse one of the bunch,
Tom would [B] go home for his [G#m] lunch,
He'd do it [B] just for spite,
Playing hockey [F#] on the [B] ice.

Brucie's [E] mother tanned his hide,
For wearing [B] Sunday clothes outside,
For [F#] falling in the [F#7] rent,
Or going [B] off the edge of the ice;
For [E] swearing there was Harv,
Swinging [B] fists right from the [G#m] start,
He was all [B] bark no bite,
Playing hockey [F#] on the [B] ice.

And [E] when the day would end,
And the [B] cold and wet would send
Every [F#] boy home to [F#7] work,
And [B] after supper then;
We were [E] soon all off to bed,
The only [B] thing in our [G#m] heads,
What we [B] dreamt of every night
Was playing hockey [F#] on the [B] ice.

Playing, [C#m] hockey (hockey, hockey)
On the [B] bays or ponds or coves,
'Twas [C#m] hockey (hockey, hockey)
As [F#] everybody [B] knows.

~ Chords and MIDI file by Bob Dumais ~