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Now, my boys, I think it's time
To tell our trip on the Hall's Bay Line;
It was up to Gambo we did go,
All in the good ship Ivanhoe.
And drill ye heroes, drill!
Drill ye tarriers, drill!
You will work all day without sugar in your tea,
When you're workin' on the northern railroad.
Drill ye heroes, drill!
Sammy Grand was our boss man,
And Jim McCann was our second hand;
And Joseph Kean was our cook man,
And now, my boys, the truth to you:
They're just the lads could put us through.
And drill ye heroes, drill!
Drill ye tarriers, drill!
You will work all day without sugar in your tea,
When you're workin' on the northern railroad.
Drill ye heroes, drill!
It was at Codroy we pitched our tent,
We got employment as we went;
There were four of us lived in one camp,
Three King's Cove boys and a Stock Cove tramp.
And drill ye heroes, drill!
Drill ye tarriers, drill!
You will work all day without sugar in your tea,
When you're workin' on the northern railroad.
Drill ye heroes, drill!
Our boss was a fine man all along,
Till he married a great big fat fall down;
She baked good bread, she baked it well,
She baked it hard as the hubs of hell.
And drill ye heroes, drill!
Drill ye tarriers, drill!
You will work all day without sugar in your tea,
When you're workin' on the northern railroad.
Drill ye heroes, drill!
When poor John's pay day come around,
Two dollars short poor John was found;
"What for?" says Jack, but he can't reply,
"You're docked for the time you were in the sky."
And drill ye heroes, drill!
Drill ye tarriers, drill!
You will work all day without sugar in your tea,
When you're workin' on the northern railroad.
Drill ye heroes, drill!
In the morning at four the whistle will blow,
You'll snatch your duds and away you'll go;
We had to gravel in the Gand Tar pit,
And we had to ditch in the slope as well,
And I wish to God you were all in hell.
And drill ye heroes, drill!
Drill ye tarriers, drill!
You will work all day without sugar in your tea,
When you're workin' on the northern railroad.
Drill ye heroes, drill!
See more songs by the Devines.
Collected in 1952 from William Holloway of King's Cove, NL, by Kenneth Peacock and published in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 3, pp.781-782, by the National Museum of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
Tarrier (from the word terrier) was the name given to the railroad blasters and drillers of Irish descent. Some say the word tarrier came from their wiry whiskers, while others say it was because terriers are 'earth' dogs who dig their prey from tunnels and holes.
