Canada-I-O

"Canada-I-O"
"Canada-I-O"
Song
Written	before 1700
Songwriter	Traditional

"Canada-I-O" (also known as "Canadee-I-O" or "The Wearing of the Blue") is a traditional English folk ballad (Roud 309). It is believed to have been written before 1839.

When her love goes to sea, a lady dresses as a sailor and joins (his or another's) ship's crew. When she is discovered, (the crew/her lover) determine to drown her. The captain saves her and they marry.

Based on similarity of title, some connect this song with "Canaday-I-O, Michigan-I-O, Colley's Run I-O". There is no connection in plot, however, and any common lyrics are probably the result of cross-fertilization.

The Scottish song "Caledonia/Pretty Caledonia" is quite different in detail — so much so that it is separate from the "Canada-I-O" texts in the Roud Folk Song Index ("Canaday-I-O" is #309; "Caledonia" is #5543). The plot, however, is too close for scholars to distinguish.

Broadsides

Bodleian, Harding B 11(1982), "Kennady I-o," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Firth c.12(329), Harding B 11(2039), "Lady's Trip to Kennedy"; Harding B 25(1045), "The Lady's Trip to Kennady"; Firth c.12(330), "Canada Heigho"; Firth c.13(240), Firth c.12(331), Harding B 11(2920), 2806 c.16(72), "Canada I, O"

Recordings

Nic Jones, "Canadee-I-O" (on Penguin Eggs, 1980)
Bob Dylan, "Canadee-i-o" (on Good as I Been to You, 1992)
Seven Nations, "Canadee-i-o" (on Old Ground, 1995)
Warren Zevon, "Canadee-I-O" (Live on Edmonton Folk Music Festival, 2002)
The White Stripes, "Canadee I-O" (on Under Great White Northern Lights, B-Shows, 2010)
10,000 Maniacs (on Twice Told Tales, 2015)
The Outside Track, "Canadee-I-O" (on Light Up The Dark, 2015)
Shirley Collins, "Canadee-i-o" (on Heart's Ease, 2020)
Oli Steadman, on his song collection "365 Days Of Folk". (2024)

Alternative titles

^{[citation needed]}

"Canada Heigho!!"
"Kennady I-o"
"Lady's Trip to Kennady"

Notes

↑ "Vaughan Williams Memorial Library Roud 309 entry". Archived from the original on 2020-08-11.
↑ "(broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(1982))". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-18.
↑ "Harding B 11(3429A)". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-18.
↑ "Firth c.12(330)". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-18.
↑ "365 Days Of Folk: Song List". Retrieved 24 January 2024.

References

Sam Henry, Sam Henry's Songs of the People (1990), H162, pp. 333–334, "Canada[,] Hi! Ho!" (1 text, 1 tune)
John Ord, Bothy Songs and Ballads (1930; Reprint edition with introduction by Alexander Fenton printed 1995), pp. 117–118, "Caledonia" (1 text)
MacEdward Leach, Folk Ballads & Songs of the Lower Labrador Coast (1965), 90, "Canadee-I-O" (1 text, 1 tune)
Maud Karpeles, Folk Songs from Newfoundland (1970), 48, "Wearing of the Blue" (1 text, 1 tune)
Helen Creighton, Folksongs from Southern New Brunswick (1971), 109, "She Bargained with a Captain" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Dick Greenhaus & Susan Friedman (editors), "The Digital Tradition", CANADIO3* CALEDONIA*
Roud Folk Song Index #309 and 5543
Library and Archives Canada - Amicus #31009060

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[1] "Vaughan Williams Memorial Library Roud 309 entry". Archived from the original on 2020-08-11.

[2] "(broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(1982))". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-18.

[3] "Harding B 11(3429A)". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-18.

[4] "Firth c.12(330)". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-18.

[5] "365 Days Of Folk: Song List". Retrieved 24 January 2024.