Paddle your own canoe

First Published1866
LyricsHarry CliftonMusicCharles Coote Jnr arr. HobsonRoudRN6093
Music Hall performersHarry Clifton, Fred French
Folk performancesCollected from the singing of:
Bond, Alice Mary; England : Cambridgeshire : 1890s
Carter, Mrs. Bettie P; USA : Virginia : 1931
Crighton, Miss Lizzie; Scotland; no date
Cronin, Elizabeth; Ireland : Co. Cork : No date
Green, Charles; England : Yorkshire : 1971
Kincaid, Bradley; USA : Kentucky ; no date
Lane, W.G. USA : Virginia : Altavista 1931
Smith, Miss Duo K; USA : N. Carolina ; No date
Unknown singer ; USA : Iowa; 1930c
Unknown singer; England : Wiltshire ; 1922c

Modern Performances:
Skyland Scotty & Lulu Belle Wiseman, The Chieftains, The Wolfe Tones
From Hopwood and Crew sheet music (personal copy):

PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE
Witten and Sung by Hary Clifton, Arranged by M Hobson
(QUEEN OF THE HARVEST VALSE by kind permission of Charles Coote Jnr)

I've travelled about a bit in my time
And of troubles I've seen a few
I found it better in every clime
To paddle my own canoe
My wants are small, I care not at all
If my debts are paid when due
I drive away life in the ocean of life
While I paddle my own canoe.

Then love your neighbour as yourself
As the world you go travelling through
And never sit down with a tear or a frown
But paddle your own canoe.

I have no wife to bother my life
No lover to prove untrue
But the whole day long with a laugh and a song
I paddle my own canoe
I rise with the lark and from daylight till dark
I do what I have to do
I'm careless of wealth if I've only my health
To paddle my own canoe.

It's all very well to depend on a friend
That is if you've proved him true
But you'll find it better by far in the end
To paddle your own canoe
To borrow is dearer by far than to buy
A maxim tho' old still true
You never will sigh if you only will try
To paddle your own canoe.

If a hurricane rise in the midday skies
And the Sun is lost to view
Move steadily by, with a steadfast eye
And paddle your own canoe
The daisies that grow in the bright green fields
Are blooming so sweet for you
So never sit down with a tear or a frown
But paddle your own canoe.

Another of Harry Clifton’s motto songs that has passed into the repertoire of traditional singers on both sides of the Atlantic. For example it was collected in the early 20th century from an un-named singer by Alfred Williams.

Like many of Clifton’s songs, it was also sung in the halls by Fred French

A song particularly well-known in Irish traditional music circles, with versions both by The Chieftains and The Wolfe Tones. These versions were almost certainly derived from the singing of Elizabeth Cronin.

There are other very similar 19th century songs which sometimes get confused with this one:

  • Paddle your own canoe No 2: Some sources, eg Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines Songster (1868) give two versions of this song, labeled Nos. 1 and 2. Paddle your own canoe No. 2 has first line: Never give up, when trials come, full lyrics here.The structure of it means it could be sung to the same tune, but it’s not clear that it’s written by Clifton, and it’s not the version commonly heard from traditional singers.
  • As You Paddle Your Boat Along (First line: This world we live in is just like the sea, correct Roud Number V20357) is sometimes listed under the same Roud Number as this song in VWML but is a quite different song, written by Harry Linn, and sung in the Halls by Fred Coyne.

Sources:

As sung by the Wolfe Tones:

Last Updated on April 17, 2024 by John Baxter | Published: April 18, 2020

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