Cliff McGann: Music

• MP3 play whole song, hi-fi (broadband)

When First I Went to Caledonia was taught to Cliff by Scottish musician Tony Cuffe. Cliff studied with Tony while both were living in Boston during the late 90’s. This lovely song of unrequited love from Cape Breton Island was rescued by Tony from the book Songs and Stories from Deep Cove, Cape Breton as Remembered by Amby Thomas. Scateree, Bouladrie are Cape Breton and Caledonia was the name of one of the islands many coal mines . Our producer Keith Murphy adds some lovely piano and harmony vocals and our engineer Eric Kilburn pulls it all together with some fine harmonica.

When First I Went To Caledonia

When first I went to Caledonia
I got loading at Number Three
And I got boarding at Donald Norman's
He had a daughter could make good tea

And it was me and my brother Charlie
The biggest shavers you e'er did see
We're spearing eels in the month of April
And starving slaves on Scataree

I went to Norman's for a pair of brochan
A pound of soap and a cake of tea
But Norman said that he would not give them
Till fish got plenty on Scataree

So I went over to their big harbour
Just on purpose for to see the spray
I spied a maiden from Boulardrie over
She seemed to me like the Queen of May

Now if I had pen from Pennsylvania
If I had paper of purest white
And if I had ink of the rosy morning
A true love note unto you I'd write

But I wish I was on the deepest ocean
As far from land as once I could be
A sailing over the deepest water
Where woman's love would not trouble me

I'd lay my head to a cask of brandy
And it's a dandy I do declare
For when I'm drinking I'm seldom thinking
How I can gain that young lady fair