Words of Songs

On this page you will find links to collections Maura has curated with the words of traditional songs, including a folder of Canadian Folk Songs, a folder of Shanties & Sea Songs, and a booklet containing Carols for Christmas.

The songs in these collections are all public domain. Anyone can learn them, sing them and record them. Maura has included links to sound files on youtube and other sources whenever possible. If you encounter a song you want to learn that has no sound link, contact Maura for a source.

Click here to browse the Canadian Folk Songs collection featuring over 80 Canadian Folk Songs.

These songs are all Canadian folk songs. They are songs collected from the singing of ordinary people in Canada. Some were brought over from England, Ireland, Scotland and France. Some were made in Canada.

Here are the titles featured in this folder, in alphabetical order:

A Fair Maid Walked in Her Father’s Garden
A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go
A Kangaroo Sat On an Oak
A Maid I Am In Love
À Saint Malo
Ballad of Jim Whelan
Barbara Allen
Bonny Banks of Virgie-O
Captain Colstein
Chesapeake and the Shannon
Chesapeake and the Shannon with chords
Chief Douglas’s Daughter
Citadel Hill
Dans la Prison de Londres
Dans les Chantiers Nous Hivernerons
Dans les Chantiers Nous Hivernerons with chords
Dapple Grey
Drive Dull Care Away
Far From Home
Far From Home with chords
Far Off Claudy
Farewell to Nova Scotia
Feller from Fortune
Fendez le Bois
Free and Easy, Jogging Along
Free and Easy, Jogging Along with chords
Gypsy Davy
Gypsy Davy with chords
Herring and Potatoes
Herring and Potatoes with chords
Hey Arise and Come Along
Hey Arise and Come Along with chords
Homeward Bound short
Homeward Bound long
Hurry Up, Harry!
Hurry Up, Harry! with chords
I’ll Go See My Love
I’s the B’y
Jeune Militaire
John Barbour
Klondike
Klondike with chords
LAvirons (most popular version)
LAvirons (Genticorum version)
La Laine des Moutons
Les Gars de Locminé
Les Raftsmen
Les Raftsmen with chords
Life in a Prairie Shack
Lord Bateman
Lost Jimmy Whelan
Love Is Easy
Maid on the Shore
Matha Grove
Murder of Maggie Howie
My California Boys
Nous Sommes Trois Freres
Poor Little Girls of Ontario
Red River Valley
Roger the Miller
Sae Will We Yet
Scarborough Settler’s Lament
Seventeen Come Sunday
She’s Like the Swallow
Song of the Sockeye
Stormy
The Banks of Sweet Dundee
The Girl I Love
The Golden Glove
The Golden Vanity
The Grand Hotel
The Grand Hotel with chords
The Kettle Valley Line
The King’s Daughter
The Lady Gay
The Lady Leroy
The Mower
The Old Beggar Man
The Weaver
The Wreck of the Asia
Thyme ‘Tis a Pretty Flower
Thyme ‘Tis a Pretty Flower with chords
Tire Va Donc Sur Les Avirons
Well Sold the Cow
Willie Taylor
Within the Well

Click here to browse the collection of Shanties & Sea Songs. There is some overlap with songs in the Canadian folder. Most of the shanties are truly international, as they were sung on board ships sailing all over the world.

Blow the Man Down
Bold Riley
Captain Colstein
Chesapeake and Shannon
Drunken Sailor
Farewell to Nova Scotia
Homeward Bound
Huckleberry Hunting
John Kanaka
Leave Her, Johnny
Maid On the Shore
Run, Let the Bulgine Run
Sam’s Gone Away
Stormy
The Golden Vanity
The Lady Leroy
The Rosabella
The Wreck of The Asia
Tire Va Donc
Tom’s Gone to Hilo
Willie Taylor

Carols for Christmas Booklet

And if you’re looking for a rich collection of carols for Christmas, Maura has put together a 23-page booklet of Christmas carol lyrics as a pdf file, to print or read
from the screen when you are gathering with friends and family over the holiday
season.

Carols for Christmas