Le Vieux Temps
By William Henry Drummond
Venez ici, mon cher ami, an' sit down by meso
An' I will tole you story of old tam long ago
W'en ev'ryt'ing is happyw'en all de bird is sing
An' me!I'm young an' strong lak moose an' not afraid no t'ing.
I close my eye jus' so, an' see de place w'ere I am born
I close my ear an' lissen to musique of de horn,
Dat 's horn ma dear ole moder blowan only t'ing she play
Is "viens donc vite Napolon'peche toi pour votre souper."
An' w'en he 's hear dat nice musiquema leetle dog "Carleau"
Is place hees tail upon hees backan' den he 's let heem go
He 's jomp on fencehe 's swimmin' crikhe 's ronne two forty gait,
He say "dat 's somet'ing good for eatCarleau mus' not be late."
O dem was pleasure day for sure, dem day of long ago
W'en I was play wit' all de boy, an' all de girl also;
An' many tam w'en I 'm alone an' t'ink of day gone by
An' pull latire an' spark de girl, I cry upon my eye.
Ma fader an' ma moder too, got nice, nice familee,
Dat 's ten garon an' t'orteen girl, was mak' it twenty t'ree
But fonny t'ing de Gouvernement don't geev de firs' prize den
Lak w'at dey say dey geev it now, for only wan douzaine.
De English peep dat only got wan familee small size
Mus' be feel glad dat tam dere is no honder acre prize
For fader of twelve chil'rendey know dat mus' be so,
De Canayens would boss Kebeckmebbe Ontario.
But dat is not de story dat I was gone tole you
About de fun we use to have w'en we leev a chez nous
We 're never lonesome on dat house, for many cavalier
Come at our place mos' every nightespecially Sun-day.
But tam I 'member bes' is w'en I 'm twenty wan yearme
An' so for mak' some pleasementwe geev wan large soire
De whole paroisse she be invitede Cur he 's come too
Wit plaintee peep from 'noder placedat 's more I can tole you.
De night she 's cole an' freeze also, chemin she 's fill wit snow
An' on de chimley lak phantome, de win' is mak' it blow
But boy an' girl come all de sam an' pass on grande parloir
For warm itself on beeg box stove, was mak' on Trois Rivires
An' w'en Bonhomme Latour commence for tune up hees fidelle
It mak' us all feel very gladl'enfant! he play so well,
Musique suppose to be firs' class, I offen hear, for sure
But mos' bes' man, beat all de res', is ole Bateese Latour
An' w'en Bateese play Irish jeeg, he 's learn on Mattawa
Dat tam he 's head boss cook Shainteeden leetle Joe Leblanc
Tak' hole de beeg Marie Juneau an' dance upon de floor
Till Marie say "Excuse to me, I cannot dance no more."
An' den de Cur 's mak' de speechole Cur Ladouceur!
He say de girl was spark de boy too much on some cornerre
An' so he 's tole Bateese play up ole fashion reel a quatre
An' every body she mus' dance, dey can't get off on dat.
Away she gohooraw! hooraw! plus fort Bateese, mon vieux
Camille Bisson, please watch your girldat 's bes' t'ing you can do.
Pass on de right an' tak' your place Mamzelle Des Trois Maisons
You 're s'pose for dance on Paul Laberge, not Telesphore Gagnon.
Mon oncle Al-fred, he spik lak' dat'cos he is boss de floor,
An' so we do our possibill an' den commence encore.
Dem crowd of boy an' girl I'm sure keep up until nex' day
If ole Bateese don't stop heseff, he come so fatigu.
An' affer dat, we eat some t'ing, tak' leetle drink also
An' de Cur, he 's tole story of many year ago
W'en Iroquois sauvage she 's keel de Canayens an' steal deir hair,
An' say dat 's only for Bon Dieu, we don't be herehe don't be dere.
But dat was mak' de girl feel scareso all de cavalier
Was ax hees girl go home right off, an' place her on de sleigh,
An' w'en dey start, de Cur say, "Bonsoir et bon voyage
Menagez-voustak' care for youprenez-garde pour les sauvages."
An' den I go meseff also, an' tak' ma belle Elmire
She 's nicer girl on whole Comt, an' jus' got eighteen year
Black hairblack eye, an' chick rose dat 's lak wan fameuse on de fall
But don't spik muchnot of dat kin', I can't say she love me at all.
Ma girlshe's fader beeg farmeurleev 'noder side St. Flore
Got five-six honder acremebbe a leetle more
Nice sugar bushune belle maisonde bes' I never see
So w'en I go for spark Elmire, I don't be mak' de foolish me
Elmire!she 's pass t'ree year on schoolSte. Anne de la Perade
An' w'en she 's tak' de firs' class prize, dat 's mak' de ole man glad;
He say "Ba goshma girl can washcan keep de kitchen clean
Den change her dressmak' politesse before God save de Queen."
Dey 's many way for spark de girl, an' you know dat of course,
Some way dey might be better way, an' some dey might be worse
But I lak' sit some cole night wit' my girl on ole burleau
Wit' lot of hay keep our foot warman' plaintee buffalo
Dat 's geev good chances get acquaintan' if burleau upset
An' t'row you out upon de snowdat 's better chances yet
An' if you help de girl go home, if horse he ronne away
De girl she 's not much use at alldon't geev you nice baiser!
Dat 's very well for fun ma frien', but w'en you spark for keep
She 's not sam t'ing an' mak' you feel so scare lak' leetle sheep
Some tam you get de feversome tam you 're lak snowball
An' all de tam you ack lak' foucan't spik no t'ing at all.
Wall! dat 's de way I feel meseff, wit Elmire on burleau,
Jus' lak' small dog try ketch hees tailroun' roun' ma head she go
But bimeby I come more bravean' tak' Elmire she's han'
"Laisee-moi tranquille" Elmire she say "You mus' be crazy man."
"Yassyass I say " mebbe you t'ink I 'm wan beeg loup garou,
Dat 's forty t'ousand 'noder girl, I lef' dem all for you,
I s'pose you know Polique Gauthier your frien' on St. Cesaire
I ax her marry me nex' wickshe tak' meI don't care."
Ba gosh; Elmire she don't lak datit mak' her feel so mad
She commence cry, say "'Poleon you treat me very bad
I don't lak see you t'row you'seff upon Polique Gauthier,
So if you say you love me surewe mak' de marie"
Oh it was fine tam affer datCastor I t'ink he know,
We 're not too busy for get homehe go so nice an' slow,
He 's only upset t'reefour taman' jus' about daylight
We pass upon de ole man's placean' every t'ing 's all right.
Wall! we leev happy on de farm for nearly fifty year,
Till wan day on de summer tamshe diema belle Elmire
I feel so lonesome lef' behin'I tink 't was bes' mebbe
Dat w'en le Bon Dieu tak' ma fammehe should not forget me.
But dat is hees biz-nesse ma frien'I know dat 's all right dere
I 'll wait till he call "'Poleon" den I will be prepare
An' w'en he fin' me ready, for mak' de longue voyage
He guide me t'roo de wood hesef upon ma las' portage.