Digital Tradition Mirror

This notation is pretty simple; dark circles mean covered holes; empty circles mean uncovered holes; a '+' below means to blow harder to get the upper octave; a '#' below means this note is too low for the whistle chosen and you'll have to fake it :) The author of this program always plays accidentals by closing holes, so you'll never see half-covered holes.

When I was starting, I found notation like this to be very helpful, and I know plenty of people who have trouble reading music who find this notation easier. Good luck!

Saskatchewan

(C whistle)

(This score available as ABC, SongWright, PostScript, PNG, or PMW, or a MIDI file)
(Choose a whistle key: A B C D E F G Ab Bb Cb Db Eb Fb Gb A# B# C# D# E# F# G#)
Dulcimer tab for this song is also available

Saskatchewan

1.  Saskatchewan, the land of snow
    Where winds are always on the blow
    And [where] people sit with frozen toes
    And why we stay here, no-one knows.

Chorus
    Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan,
    There's no place like Saskatchewan
    We sit and gaze across the plains
    And wonder why it never rains
    And Gabriel blows his trumpet sound,
    He says, "The rain, she's gone around."

2.  Our pigs are dying on their feet
    Because they have no food [feed] to eat
    Our horses, though of bronco race
    Starvation stares them in the face.

3.  The milk from cows has ceased to flow
    We had to ship them ['em] east, you know
    Our hens are old, they [and] lay no eggs
    Our turkeys eat grasshopper legs.

4.  But still we love Saskatchewan,
    We're proud to say we're natives ones
    So count your blessings, drop by drop -
    Next year we'll have a bumper crop!

by William W. Smith, Swift Current to "Beulah Land" tune;
parallel to an earlier US parody called "Dakota Land".
Sung by Jim Young, Regina, to Barbara Cass-Beggs, on
"Folksongs of Saskatchewan", Folkways, 1963 JB
JB
                                                 apr96

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!