Well, I's da b'y that builds the boat, uh-huh,
And I's da b'y that sails her;
Well, I's da b'y that catched the fish, uh-huh,
And I takes 'em home to Lizer.
Well, hip yer partner Sally Tibbo, uh-huh,
And hip yer partner Sally Brown;
Well, there's the Fogo, Twillingate, Moreton's Harbour,
And all around the circle.
Well, we don't want yer maggoty fish, uh-huh,
'Cause that's no good for winter;
And we can catch better than that, uh-huh,
Way down in Bonavista.... Oh, yeah, now.
Now, I took Lizer to the dance, uh-huh,
And Faith, how she could travel;
Ah, but every step that Lizer took,
She was up to 'er mouth in gravel.
Sez I's da b'y that builds the boat, uh-huh,
And I's da b'y that sails her;
And I's da b'y that catches the fish, uh-huh,
And I takes 'em home to Lizer.... Take 'em home again now.
Ah, hip yer partner Sally Tibbo, uh-huh,
And hip yer partner Sally Brown;
Well, there's the Fogo, Twillingate, Moreton's Harbour,
And all around the circle.
Well, I's da b'y that builds the boat, uh-huh,
And I's da b'y that sails her;
And I's da b'y that catches the fish, uh-huh,
And I brings 'em home to Lizer.
Ah, we're gonna take 'em on home to Lizer now.
Are you hungry, Lizer?
Do you wanna boogie, Lizer?
Ah, let's get it on, Lizer.
We were gonna do our Newfie thing last night.
Lizer, you leave that Screech alone!
Ah, that's the way to go, Lizer.
####.... Author unknown. Variant of a Newfoundland traditional ....####
This variant arranged and recorded by Dick Nolan (Dick Nolan's Greatest Hits Of Newfoundland, trk# A1, 1980 LP, Starpak SK-134).
A variant that was very similar to Kenneth Peacock's original transcription, I's The B'y That Builds The Boat, was recorded by Ryan's Fancy (Times To Remember, trk#1, 1973, Audat Records, Oshawa, Ontario).
A variant was also published as I'se The B'y on p.22 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 Gerald S. Doyle's Old-Time Songs And Poetry Of Newfoundland: Songs Of The People From The Days Of Our Forefathers (Third edition, p.30, 1955)
From the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada we are told that although the song may have originated in the 1870s, probably in a Newfoundland fishing village, interest in I's The B'y did not spread outside Newfoundland until after the song was heard and transcribed by two researchers interested in Newfoundland's folk traditions, Kenneth Peacock and Gerald S. Doyle. Its melody and lyrics were transmitted throughout Canada in the songbook Folk Songs of Canada by Edith Fowke and Richard Johnston (1954), relying on Peacock's transcription. Teachers and students outside Newfoundland were eager to learn about the music of the newest province, which had joined Canada a mere five years earlier, and I's the B'y quickly became a favourite of classrooms and choirs across the country.
From the Dictionary Of Newfoundland English: Screech - popular name for a variety of cheap, dark Demerara rum bottled in Newfoundland; trade-name of a type of rum marketed with the label Screech.
