Tickle Cove Pond

DESCRIPTION: A man hauling wood with his mare "Kitty" takes a short cut across a frozen pond. The horse hesitates to cross the weak ice. The man ignores the horse and they fall in. The man shouts for help and neighbors come to haul the mare out with a chanty song.
AUTHOR: Mark Walker (1846-1924) (Source: Philip Hiscock of MUNFLA, Canadian Folk Music Bulletin 37.2, 2003)
EARLIEST DATE: 1940 (Doyle-OldTimeSongsAndPoetryOfNewfoundland, 2nd edition)
KEYWORDS: horse work rescue
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Blondahl-NewfoundlandersSing, pp. 16-17, "Tickle Cove Pond" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doyle-OldTimeSongsAndPoetryOfNewfoundland, "Tickle Cove Pond" (1 text, 1 tune): pp. 18-19 in the 2nd edition, pp. 75-76 in the 3rd; pp. 61-62 in the 4th; pp. 48-49 in the 5th
Mills-FavoriteSongsOfNewfoundland, pp. 8-10, "Tickle Cove Pond" (1 text, 1 tune)
England-HistoricNewfoundlandAndLabrador, pp. 60-61, "Tickle Cove Pond" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, TCKLCOVE*
Roud #7313
RECORDINGS:
Omar Blondahl, "Tickle Cove Pond" (on NFOBlondahl01,NFOBlondahl05)
NOTES [258 words]: A "tickle" is a narrow inlet of water. Tickle Cove is on the north-east coast of Newfoundland. Also, the song has a chanty included in it that is contextualized for the narrative of the song. For a colorful explanation of Newfoundland usage, see Harold Horwood, "Newfoundland" (Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1969) 83-84. - SH
The author is named by GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador site.
If you are interested in the Newfoundland song tradition in general and the history of this song in particular be sure to read Taking Apart "Tickle Cove Pond" in Canadian Journal for Traditional Music, vol. 29, 2002 by Philip Hiscock, pp. 32-68, also available in PDF format at //cjtm.icaap.org/content/29/05-Hiscock.pdf. Hiscock does not just discuss the origins of the song. From his abstract: "Nowadays, the song has certain meanings for listeners. This paper suggests they reflect contemporary beliefs and 'imaginings' about Newfoundland's past."
"The tune is derived from the Irish tune 'Tatter [i.e., Father] Jack Walsh,' which also goes by several other names in Ireland." Hiscock, p. 40.
The words of some of the songs Hiscock attributes to Mark Waller may be found at the Bonavista Bay Songs section of the Newfoundland's Grand Banks sites - BS
Mark Walker is listed as the author of several popular Newfoundland songs, "Tickle Cove Pond," "Fanny's Harbour Bawn," "The 'Antis' of Plate Cove," and "Lovely Katie-O"; a family tradition also says that he wrote "The Star of Logy Bay." See the notes to that song for discussion of the matter. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.0
File: Doy18

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