"Land of the Silver Birch" (Roud 4550) is a traditional Canadian folk song that dates from the 1920s. The lyrics are sometimes erroneously attributed to Pauline Johnson, perhaps in confusion with her well-known poem, "The Song My Paddle Sings". It is sometimes sung to keep time while canoeing, and sometimes sung at campfires in a round. It is in Aeolian, or natural minor, but may be sung with a raised sixth, creating a Dorian feel.
Its subject matter is a romanticized vision of nature and the land from the perspective of an Indigenous person.
Lyrics
Like most traditional songs the lyrics vary slightly. The following are representative:
verse 1:
:Land of the silver birch<br />Home of the beaver<br />Where still the mighty moose<br />Wanders at will
:Refrain:<br />Blue lake and rocky shore<br />I will return once more<br />boomdidi boom boom – boomdidi boom boom – boomdidi boom boom boom
:High on a rocky ledge <br />I'll build my wigwam (Alternate version: There where the blue lake lies, I'll set my wigwam)<br />Close to the water's edge<br />Silent and still
:Refrain
:My heart grows sick for thee<br />Here in the low lands<br />I will return to thee<br />Hills of the north
:Refrain
thumb|"My Paddle's Keen and Bright"
It is related to a similar song "My Paddle's Keen and Bright" (), written by Margaret Embers McGee (1889–1975) in 1918,
:High as an eagle soars<br />Over the mountains<br />My spirit rises up<br />Free as a bird
A French version, "Terre du bouleau blanc", was distributed by Orff Canada.
In 1979 the Canadian Cultural Workers' Committee, a musical group associated with the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), released a song on their album 'The Party is the Most Precious Thing' titled 'Death to the Traitors' which takes its melody from "Land of the Silver Birch" but with new communist lyrics about destroying imperialism and capitalism in Canada and uniting the Canadian working class.
"Silver Birch" in the Scouts and Guiding movement
Since the 1930s, the song has been popular with Scouts and Girl Guides. Its origin is unclear.
It is sung regularly at Canadian Scout and Guide camps, including Doe Lake, Camp Maple Leaf, Camp Wenonah (co-educational camp) and Camp Peaceful Waters in Quebec's lower Laurentians.
The song is also sometimes sung at Boy Scout Camps in the United States, though sometimes "eagle" is sung in place of "beaver". Another variation is sung at the opening and closing campfires at Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan Scout Reservation in Pearson, Wisconsin. Cuyuna Scout Camp of Crosslake, Minnesota uses this song as one of the three it uses to close its Sunday and Friday night campfire programs, as does Camp Babcock-Hovey in Ovid, New York.
The translated Italian version "Terra di Betulla" is likely frequent campfire song for Italian scouts.
The Dutch version “Land van de Zilverberk” is sung in Dutch scouts groups. It is likely this version travelled to the Netherlands through different scout Jamborees.
Other uses
In the 2019 film Brotherhood, directed by Richard Bell is based on a true story of a 1926 canoeing accident in an Ontario, Canada lake at a boys' summer camp. Ten boys and a camp counsellor died, when their 30-foot canoe capsized. The boys' hearty rendition of Land of the Silver Birch as the canoe trip began, is replayed throughout the film in subdued tones, reflecting the survivors' struggle to stay alive in the dark, frigid waters.
See also
- Canadian patriotic music
Notes
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