Digital Tradition Mirror

Poor Little Girls of Ontario

(This score available as ABC, SongWright, PostScript, PNG, or PMW, or a MIDI file)
Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available

Poor Little Girls of Ontario

1.  I'll sing you a song of that lone pest
    It goes by the name of the Great Northwest
    I cannot have a beau at all,
    They all skip out there in the fall.

Chorus
    One by one, they all clear out,
    Thinking to better themselves, no doubt,
    Caring little how far they go
    From the poor little girls of Ontario.

2.  First I got mashed on Charley Brown
    The nicest fellow in all the town
    But he tipped his hat and sailed away
    And now he's settled in Manitobay.

3.  Then Henry Maynard with his white cravat
    His high stiff collar and his new plug hat
    He said if he stayed, he'd have to beg
    And now he's settled in Winnipeg.

4.  Then my long-legged druggist with his specs on his nose,
    I really thought that he'd propose
    But he's sold his bottle-shop and now he's gone
    Clear out to little Saskatchewan.

5.  I'll pack my clothes in a carpet sack
    I'll go out there and I'll never come back
    I'll find me a husband, and a good one, too
    If I have to go through to Cariboo.

Last Chorus
   One by one, we'll all clear out
    Thinking to better ourselves, no doubt,
    Caring little how far we go
    From the old, old folks of Ontario.

from Mrs. Hartley Minifie, Peterborough, to Edith Fowke: "Folk
Songs of Ontario", Folkways, 1958
JB
                                                 apr96

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!