Digital Tradition Mirror

The Oda G

The Oda G
(Stanley G. Triggs)

1.  Come all you jolly tugboatmen
    And listen unto me
    While I tell you a story of hardships and glory
    Of a lusty old life on the deep briny sea.

2.  There once was a stalwart old tugboat,
    Her name was the Oda G.
    And I'll let you know, boys, at pullin' a tow, boys,
    There was no huskier tugboat than she.

3.  She came off the ways in 'eighty-nine,
    For storms she cared not a damn
    It was boasted around, 'twas the talk of the town
    That she knew that old coastline as well as a man.

4.  Now her mate was an expert at running the logs
    He ne'er seemed to come to no harm
    But he ran out of luck when he fell in the chuck
    With a rusty old boom-chain wrapped round his left arm.

5.  Her engineer was a lazy young tramp
    All day he did nothin' but read
    On the fantail he sat on his young lazy prat
    Till a big roarin' wave swept him into the sea[weed].

6.  And her deckhand was paintin' the bulwarks so fine,
    Paintin' so carefully,
    But he met his fate when, to admire his paintin',
    He took a step back and fell into the sea.

7.  Now her skipper, he was very fine man
    At seafarin' he was a pip
    But without a crew he didn't know what to do
    So he grabbed up a lifebelt and abandoned the ship.

8.  But the old Oda G. she kept tuggin' along
    She towed those logs down to Long Bay
    And old Penney [the owner] hurrayed for the money he saved
    And he sent her back north on the very next day.

Copyright Stanley G. Triggs,
     and on his record, "Bunkhouse and Forecastle Songs of the
     Northwest" (Folkways).
JB

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!

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