Eric & Jack

Come all you good people
Come listen to my song
While I relate these few sad lines
I won't delay for long
On January the Seventh
I'll always hear in mind
The wind was from the West North West
And the snow was falling fine
We steered the course to the fishing grounds
All onboard was happy and gay
But little we thought it would be out lot
To those two men that day
Our skipper in his kindly words
Onto our men did say
You better three hands in a dory boys
And set the Western way
The trawl was set the usual way
The anchors and the kegs were bent
We then took to our dories
And to the Eastern went
We cruised around those Eastern kegs
A space of a hour and a half
The orders was to take it back
The day was failing fast
The skipper in a kindly tone
Again to us did say
I'm afraid of some misfortune
If I'd towed you down today
The number one dropped from her sling
Not a word to one was said
But little it thought it would be their lot
To meet a watery grave
The number two was also drawn
To row down to their keg
They never got so very far
For an awful alarm was raised
The cry came from our schooner
It was hurry, hurry, up
Pull for the outside dory boys
I think she's bottom up
When we arrived upon the scene
Everyone was drifting round
The dory full of water
And those two boys was drowned
We cruised around the waters
But nothing could we see
A drowned accident occurs
Like a mystery of the sea
The keg it had been taken onboard
The black ball being removed
It was whether they tipped their dory or not
It was more than we could prove
We cruised around the waters
But all and all in vain
We then took in our dory
And shaped her for the land
The wireless they kept her busy
The news was sent to home
To the broken hearted parents
The day their boys were drowned
Sad news for Richard's Harbour
And also Francois Bay
To the broken hearted parents
Their boys were called away
The Eric and Jack was clouded sail
On January the ninth
Bound down to Francois Harbour
The mourners to unite
Those two young men in their prime of life
Had bid this world adieu
Chesley Skinner was twenty-one years of age
George Fudge was twenty-two
So now my song is ended
I hope you all agree
To put your trust in the Lord
On land and on the sea
 

My Home In Broad Cove
 

Yesterday when I was young
My summer days were spent among
The trees and fields and rocky shore
Quite unaware that I would store
Or never could have understood
A love of such magnitude
Such little things yet all combined
Fill all the corners of my mind
Sweet wild berries everywhere
Scents of pine and salt sea air
Quite indescribable a thing
The fragment may flowers in the spring
No matter where it is I roam
I am filled with longing to go home
There was Grand-dad's house Just below
Aunts and Uncles on each side
The big flat rocks and the tall green grass
Where we played with bits of coloured glass
Priceless treasures of every hue
Deep rich red and gold and blue
And farther down the road I would go
To spread fish on flakes of wood and so
And bring the clear cold water from the brook
Oh, how I loved it all!
There were lots of friends I know
There were men and women
Spinning a yarn or two
Oh Broad Cove, how I think of you this September night!
Those memories warm me deep within
I laughed a lot and sometimes cried
But those small spots of Broad Cove shore
Are home to my heart forever more!
Louise Meade (nee Durnford)
 

Going on a Spree

We're going over Stewie's and get the lodge key
it's Saturday night and we're going on a spree.
We collected enough money to pay for the hall
The boys are alone at this late in the fall.
If we could get someone to play the squeeze box
I 'llow we'll be dancing til 3 o'clock.
And we're going over Stewie's and get the lodge key
it's Saturday night and we're going on a spree.
Well oh Garge my son I'll give you ace high
I'll get you a girl now so don't be shy.
I know you can dance for I've seen you before
Just hang up your coat and get out on the floor.
We're going over Stewie's and get the lodge key
it's Saturday night and we're going on a spree.
We're chainin' up now boy's we've gotta good crowd
The squeeze box is playin and playin so loud.
Frank's playing a jig I've never heard before
And Wilfred stepin her close to the floor.
We're going over Stewie's and get the lodge key
it's Saturday night and we're going on a spree.
Its 2 o'clock now boy's and still going strong
We keep this up we'll be here until dawn.
Most of the boys got some girl or other
They're out in the porch with the girl corner.
We're going over Stewie's and get the lodge key
it Saturday night and we're going on a spree.
Will some of them is leaving going up on high road
It won't be very warm out there in the cold.
Will it won't be to long now for they'll go down house
And cuddle up together so warm on the couch.
We're going over Stewie's and get the lodge key
it's Saturday night and we're going on a spree.
Stewie's gone out to Glad and said its alright
If we get the log again any night.
The ferry might stay in if the winter gets bad
This winter we'll tormet the life out of Glad.
Were going over Stewie's and get the log key
it Saturday night and we're going on a spree.
We're going over Stewie's and get the log key
it Saturday night and we're going on a spree.

Author: Unknown
 

Francois Song

Come all my friends and neighbours,
And listen to my song,
It's about my native birthplace,
The place where I belong.
It's about the people who love their homes like me
The place of course is Francois,
A village by the sea

Our harbour is a haven for ships of every sort
They come to seek their refuge
From windy seas and storms
They come to take our men away
To sail the fishing fleet.
Those men who earn their living,
Where ever it may be

Our men can face the danger
And hardships that they meet
From Channel down to Old St. John's
They sail the fishing fleet
From Nova Scotia to the lakes
Where ever it may be
You'll find some men from Francois
On the land or on the sea

We've had them in the Army
And in the Navy too
They proudly fought for Liberty,
The red white & 'the blue
Some came back to settle here
While others stayed away
But the love of Francois still remains
Deep in their hearts today

The people who have settled here
Are thoughtful kind and true
If you're in need of help you'll find
They'll lend a hand to you
They know each other's troubles
They share each others pain
Be a neighbour or a stranger
The feeling is just the same

Although we seem contented,
We sometimes wonder why
The wealth of their own province,
Just seem to pass them by
The rest of Newfoundland has grown
But few changes here has come
While the settlement of Francois
On the map is just the name

You've heard it said that God helps those,
Who try to help themselves.
It's time we put our future,
High upon the shelves.
Lets work together for the cause
And not just sit and moan.
By doing this we may go far
And above all save our home.
 

Memories

Have you been down to the Southwest Coast, where life goes back in time,
To a place that's known as Fransway where you don't need a dime
To get a cup of coffee and make friends along the way,
To appreciate the beauty of the mountains and the bay.
Have you climbed upon the Friar or looked out from Charlie's Head
Or put your foot upon a trail and followed where it led,
Have you spent a summer Sunday going down the Bay,
O Lord I'd like to thank you for bringing me this way.
Have you sat up on the Highroad on a balmy summer night
And held hands with the one you love while you watched the Micquelon light,
Have you watched the boats returning from another fishing day
With fishermen who go to sea and work so hard always.
Have you listened to the country yarns that Jimmy Sam could tell
And were you there on New Year's Eve when he rang the old church bell,
Did you sit and talk to Lydia as she watched her children play,
Did you know she named them one by one when she knelt down to pray?
Have you ever heard the Nordeast wind as it howls and shrieks and wails
And the fishermen look to their boats cause there's a living gale
And when you think the walls will break and your roof can stand no more
That Nordeast wind will veer around till it's peaceful on the shore.
Have you ever been a mummer and had a drink of rum
With friends and kin at Christmastime who to your house will come
And who often get together to dance the night away
Those folks who work hard through the year but still take time to play.
Have you ever gone to Shalor to a cabin by the shore,
Where life is quiet and peaceful but surf will often roar,
To sit down on the beach with friends on a quiet starry night
And cook some fresh picked mussels while the fire is burning bright.
We did all these things and more when Fransway was our home,
Memories will go with us now no matter where we roam
And as we mix and talk and dance with friends upon this day
Our hearts are feeling heavy, we wish that we could stay.
We hate to think our lives will change and these things we'll know no more
So we will be returning to that cabin by the shore
And if you're passing by some time we'd like you to feel free
Drop in to say "hello" and have some coffee or some tea.
And if you're ever down our way your face we'd love to see,
From Ches and Jo to Alice and Rol and all hands in between,
Those friends we've made throughout the years, in our hearts you'll stay
And we will always thank the Lord for bringing us this way,
And we will always thank the Lord for bringing us Fransway!
Friends Always,
 

Cecily & Darryl