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©2002 |
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The lyrics of “The Canadian” pretty much give a capsule history of
this breed, which has recently been declared Canada’s National Horse by an
act of Parliament. For those wanting to know more about its fascinating history and
its amazing versatility, there are several excellent Web sites linked on the Canadian Horse page at this site. Here is more information about Marie-Lynn’s Canadian. |
well he’s not too big and he’s not too tall overall he’s kinda small next to your Clydes or your fancy breeds you mightn’t give him a second look heavy mane and tail, broad round back, Not very flashy, mostly brown or black but here’s a case where you shouldn’t be lookin’ at the cover to judge the book now my grandpapa he used to say when he was a young man in Gaspé he had a mare like that, a Canadian they called Rosette ploughing fields, hauling rocks or wood that little horse was better than good you could ride or drive her 50 miles and she’d never even break a sweat and Grandpapa made up a song that he’d sing to that little mare all day long CHORUS: Mon p’tit canadien mon p’tit cheval de fer a’ec sa tête en l’air pis sa belle crinière y’est pas ben grand y’est pas ben gros mais y’est fort comme le diable pis ben plus beau! diddle aï don, marches donc giddy-up Mon p’tit canadien TRANSLATION: My little Canadian my little iron horse with its head held proudly and its beautiful mane it’s not very tall and not very heavy but it’s strong as the devil and much handsomer! diddle aï don, get along giddy-up My little Canadian oh my grandpapa he left Quebec he took his mare and he made the trek by rail to North Alberta where good land was almost free the farmers there all laughed of course at the little French guy with his little French horse figured they wouldn’t last too long out on the vast prairie But they all stopped laughing when that mare out-pulled every horse at the county fair and word got round she had legs of steel and was never lame a day gentle as a pup and twice as smart an easy keeper with a great big heart but that’s your Canadian horse, my friend, and I’ll tell you how they got that way See, there’s royal blood in their pedigree ’cause the Sun King sent them here by sea he chose the best from his stables for his noblemen in New France and some never made it through the winter gales but the horses that did grew tough as nails and strong and clever, and wove their way through history at every chance CHORUS they were there on the Plains of Abraham carrying men fighting under Montcalm they were prized by the Yanks as trotters, and mounts in their Civil war they were ridden by the North West Mounted Police in that sad campaign against the Métis and they stood their ground in World War I through the battle’s bloody roar now ain’t that just the Canadian way it goes to have something special and no one knows and to let it fade and dwindle till it almost disappears thirty years ago they were almost gone but the Little Iron Horse is hanging on and I figure they deserve to be around for the next four hundred years now my father he spoke French all right but he married my mama who’s a Mennonite so though my name’s Labelle, I never learned how to parlez-vous but I understand my granddad’s song some days I sing it all day long to my little black horse and he pricks his ears, ’cause I swear he understands it too Mon p’tit canadien mon p’tit cheval de fer a’ec sa tête en l’air pis sa belle crinière y’est pas ben grand y’est pas ben gros mais y’est fort comme le diable pis ben plus beau! diddle ay don, marches donc giddy-up, Mon p’tit canadien mon p’tit cheval de fer a’ec sa tête en l’air pis sa belle crinière y’est pas ben grand y’est pas ben long mais y’est fort comme le diable pis ben plus beau! diddle ay don, marches donc giddy-up, diddle ay don, marches donc giddy-up, diddle ay don, marches donc giddy-up, Mon p’tit canadien! |
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