Over the hills and down the valleys
Through woods and through muskeg, in the distant wilderness
Trackless but for the river our way homeward
To reach Chapeau before the end of day.
Chorus:
Give us whiskey, beer and brandy
We'll be drinking until it's daylight
Bottles and glasses, music and lasses,
Let' s say goodbye to the woods forever.
We left the stench of the shanty behind us
The dangers of the drive and the torments of toil
Our pockets are bursting with bright pieces
And there's a winter's thirst to beat back.
Isn't it a thousand times better to spend my time
With a woman on my knee and a glass in my hand
Than to endure lonely winter nights in the shanty
Without a girl to take the cold from my bones?
If I ever go back to that cursed place
Where I lost the blossom of my youth long ago
Though the road be long and winding,
Be sure that I will be back here in the spring!
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