'Poleon Doré

DESCRIPTION: French-Canadian dialect song. Singer describes working in a lumber camp. Paul Desjardins falls into rapids; oars do not reach him. Napoleon Dore dives in. Both drown in a whirlpool. Their bodies are found in each other's arms. They are buried together.
AUTHOR: William Henry Drummond
EARLIEST DATE: 1897 (Drummond, The Habitant)
LONG DESCRIPTION: French-Canadian dialect song. Singer first describes (at length) the pleasures and comradeship of working in a lumber camp, then tells story. Paul Desjardins falls overboard in rapids; after his workmates fail to save him with their oars, Napoleon Dore dives in, but both are caught in a whirlpool and drowned. Their bodies are found in each other's arms, and they are buried together.
KEYWORDS: lumbering work death friend logger drowning
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Beck-SongsOfTheMichiganLumberjacks 74, "'Poleon Doré" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: William Henry Drummond, M.D., _The Habitant and other French Canadian Poems_, Putnam, 1897, pp. 37-43, "'Poleon Doré'" (1 text)
ST Be074 (Partial)
Roud #8869
NOTES [59 words]: Is there something left unsaid here? I can't tell. I do note that this is a composed piece, and I find no evidence of a tune; I'm not sure that it justifies its inclusion in Beck. William Henry Drummond also wrote "The Wreck of the Julie Plante," which is probably traditional, and "De Camp on de Cheval Gris," which is in the Index but probably isn't. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: Be074

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