- Canada-I-O
"O-Canada" (also known as "The Wearing of the Blue" and "Caledonia") is a traditional Canadian and English folk
ballad . It is believed to have been written before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(1982))When her love goes to sea, a lady dresses as a sailor and joins (his or another's) ship's crew. When she is discovered, (the crew/her lover) determine to drown her. The captain saves her and they marry.
Based on similarity of title, some connect this song with "
Canaday-I-O, Michigan-I-O, Colley's Run I-O ". There is no connection in plot, however, and any common lyrics are probably the result ofcross-fertilization .The Scottish song "Caledonia" is quite different in detail — so much so that it is separate from the "Canada-I-O" texts in the
Roud Folk Song Index ("Canaday-I-O" is #309; "Caledonia" is #5543). The plot, however, is too close for scholars to distinguish.Broadsides
* Bodleian, Harding B 11(1982), "Kennady I-o," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Firth c.12(329), Harding B 11(2039), "Lady's Trip to Kennedy"; Harding B 25(1045), "The Lady's Trip to Kennady"; Firth c.12(330), "Canada Heigho"; Firth c.13(240), Firth c.12(331), Harding B 11(2920), 2806 c.16(72), "Canada I, O"
Recordings
*
Nic Jones , "Canadee-I-O" (on "Penguin Eggs ", 1980)
*Bob Dylan , "Canadee-i-o" (on "Good as I Been to You ", 1992)
*Seven Nations , "Canadee-i-o" (on "Old Ground ", 1995)Alternative titles
* "Canada Heigho!!"
* "Kennady I-o"
* "Lady's Trip to Kennady"References
# Sam Henry, "Sam Henry's Songs of the People" (1990), H162, pp. 333-334, "Canada [,] Hi! Ho!" (1 text, 1 tune)
# John Ord, "Bothy Songs and Ballads" (1930; Reprint edition with introduction by Alexander Fenton printed 1995), pp. 117-118, "Caledonia" (1 text)
# MacEdward Leach, "Folk Ballads & Songs of the Lower Labrador Coast" (1965), 90, "Canadee-I-O" (1 text, 1 tune)
# Maud Karpeles, "Folk Songs from Newfoundland" (1970), 48, "Wearing of the Blue" (1 text, 1 tune)
# Helen Creighton, "Folksongs from Southern New Brunswick" (1971), 109, "She Bargained with a Captain" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
# Dick Greenhaus & Susan Friedman (editors), "The Digital Tradition", CANADIO3* CALEDONIA*
#Roud Folk Song Index #309 and 5543
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