"Tickle Cove Pond"

No personal notes.

From Wikipedia;

Tickle Cove Pond was written by Mark Walker (songwriter), a fisherman and song-writer who lived in Tickle Cove, Bonavista Bay in Newfoundland, Canada during the late 19th century. This song is prized locally for the beauty and wit of the lyrics, which turn a mundane event into an act of heroism. Although most Newfoundland songs are passed on by ear alone, in recent years it has been recorded by Sean Sullivan & Rob Slaney (in Our Songs Vol. 2: Favorite Songs of Newfoundland & Labrador), Ron Hynes (in Another Time: The Songs Of Newfoundland), and by Great Big Sea, who have released an album entitled The Hard and the Easy. They have also released a DVD with a companion CD entitled Courage & Patience & Grit in reference to a verse from Tickle Cove Pond. In addition, this song has been recorded by a St. John's Traditional Folk group called Connemara. It was also recorded by the Vermont-based ensemble Nightingale.

Additional Info: Mark Walker was born at Tickle Cove, Bonavista Bay South (BBS), Newfoundland, Canada in 1846. His father was Marcus Walker of County Tipperary, Ireland; his mother - Jane Mackey of Bonavista, Newfoundland. Mark Walker moved to Sweet Bay, BBS, in the 1880s where he worked as post master, as well as in both the fishing and lumber trades. In 1908, he and his family moved to Massachusetts, USA. Walker died in 1928.

Aside from "Tickle Cove Pond," Walker wrote other folk classics including "Fanny's Harbour Bawn," "The Antis of Plate Cove," "The Races on Tickle Cove Pond," and a second "Tickle Cove Pond" not long before his death.

Although widely misunderstood in the lyrics, the surname "Oldford" never existed in Tickle Cove until relatively recent years. The surname mentioned in the song is "Over" which at one time was "Ovier." The phonetic misunderstanding and subsequent use of both surnames, as well as other lines, in relation to this song is common.

"Tickle Cove Pond" was first recorded by Canadian folksinger Alan Mills in 1953 and released on Folk Songs of Newfoundland (Folkways Records FP 831).

From the Digital Tradition;

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Tickle Cove Pond

In cuttin' and haulin', in frost and in snow,
We're up against trouble that few people know
And only with patience and courage and grit,
And eatin' plain food can we keep ourselves fit.
The hard and the easy we take as it comes,
And when ponds freeze over, we shorten our runs,
To hurry my haulin', with spring comin' on
Near lost me my mare out on Tickle Cove Pond.

cho: Lay hold, William Oldford, lay hold William White
     Lay hold of the cordage and pull all your might,
     Lay hold of the bowline and pull all you can,
     And give me a lift for poor Kit on the pond.

I knew that the ice became weaker each day
But still took the risk and kept haulin' away,
One evenin' in April, bound home with a load,
The mare showed some haltin' upon the ice road.
She knew more than I did, as matters turned out,
And lucky for me had I joined in her doubt,
She turned round her head and with tears in her eyes
As if she were sayin', "You're risking our lives!"

All this I ignored with a whip-handle blow
For men are too stupid dumb creatures to know:
The very next moment, the pond gave a sigh
And up to our necks went poor Kitty and I.
Now if I had taken wise Kitty's advice
I never would take the short cut on the ice,
Poor creature, she's dead and poor creature, she's gone,
I'll ne'er get my wood out of Tickle Cove Pond.

I raised an alarm you could hear for a mile,
And neighbours turned up in a very short while;
You can always depend on the Oldfords and Whites
To render assistance in all your bad plights.
To help a poor neighbor is part of their lives
The same I can say for their children and wives.
The bowline was fastened around the mare's neck
William White for a shanty song made a request
There was no time for thinkin', no time for delay,
So straight from his head came this song rightaway:

last chorus:
     Lay hold, William Oldford, Lay hold, William White,
     Lay hold of the hawser and pull al your might,
     Lay hold of the bowline and pull all you can -
     And with that we got Kit out of Tickle Cove Pond.

from the singing of Alan Mills, "Folk Songs of Newfoundland", 1953:
his source is probably Doyle, somewhat sorted-out last verse
     and chorus. JB

From the web;

Tickle Cove Pond - as performed by Great Big Sea

G                              D
In cuttin and haulin in frost and in snow
                 C                         D7
we're up against troubles that few people know
      G                   D 
It's only by courage and patience and grit
                C            D               G
and eatin plain food that we keep ourselves fit
      Em
The hard and the easy we take as they come
        C   walk down to      Am          D
and when ponds freeze over we shorten our runs
   G                             D
to hurry my haulin with spring coming on
                 C           D           G
I near lost me a mare out on Tickle Cove Pond

CHORUS:
D    G                                  D
Lay hold William Oldford, lay hold William White
                C                           D 
Lay hold of the cordage and pull all your might
      G                     D 
Lay hold of the bowline and pull all you can
              C              D          G
And give me a lift with poor Kit on the pond

  G                       D
I knew that the ice grew weaker each day
                   C                    D7 
But still took the risk and kept haulin away
       G                   D           
One evening in April bound home with a load
                    C         D             G
my mare showed some halting against the ice road
       Em
She knew more than I did as matters turned out
        C   walk down to  Am           D
Been lucky for me had I joined her in doubt
      G                         D
She turned round her head with tears in her eyes
               C             D           G
As if she were sayin "You're risking our lives"

    G                     D
All this I ignored with a whip handle blow
             C                        D7
For man is a stupid dumb creature you know
        G                    D
And the very next moment the pond gave a sigh
                    
              C               D         G
and up to our necks went poor Kitty and I

CHORUS

      Em                              
And if I had taken wise Kitty's advice
  C              walk down to      Am         D
I ne'er would have made that short cut on the ice
       G                        D
Poor creature she's dead, poor creature she's gone
                  C           D            G
I'll ne'er get my mare out of Tickle Cove Pond

  G                         D
I raised an alarm you could hear for a mile
                      C                  D7
and neighbours showed up in a very short while
     G                     D     
You can always rely on the Oldfords and Whites
               C        D            G
To render assistance in all your bad plights
     Em
To help a kind neighbour is part of their lives
     C      walk down to       Am           D
The same can be said for their children and wives
      G                     D
And with the rope fastened around the mare's breast
                    C           D         G
William White for a shanty song made a request
          Em
There was no time for thinkin no time for delay
 C               walk down to     Am         D
Straight from his heart came this song right away

CHORUS x2