Classic Poem

The Rivière Des Prairies

I see de many reever on de State an' ev'ryw'ere,
From Maine to California, New York to Michigan,
An' wan way an' de oder, I tell you I don't care;
I travel far upon dem as moche as any man--
But all de t'ousan' reever I was never pass along,
For w'at dey call de beauty, from de mountain to de sea,
Dere 's wan dat I be t'inkin,' de wan w'ere I belong,
Can beat dem all, an' easy, too, de Rivière des Prairies!

Jus' tak' de Hudson Reever, an' de Mississippi too,
Missouri, an' de res' of dem, an' oders I can't t'ink,
Dey 're all beeg, dirty places, wit' de steamboat gruntin' troo,
An' de water runnin' in dem is black as any ink,
An' de noises of dem reever never stoppin' night or day,
An' de row along de shore, too, enough to mak' you scare;
Not a feesh is wort' de eatin', 'less you 're starvin by de way,
An' you 're feeling purty t'orsty if you drink de water dere!

So ketch de han' I geev' you w'ile I 'm on de humor now,
An' I bet you won't be sorry w'en you go along wit' me,
For I show you all aroun' dere, until you 're knowin' how
I come so moche to brag--me--on de Rivière des Prairies.
It 's a cole October mornin', an' de maple leaf is change
Ev'ry color you can t'ink of, from de purple to de green;
On de shore de crowd of blackbird, an' de crow begin' arrange
For de journey dey be takin' w'en de nort' win's blowin' keen.

Quick! down among de bushes!--don't you hear de wil' goose cry
An' de honk de great beeg gander he was makin' up above?
On de lake dey call Two Mountain is de place dey 're goin' fly,
But only spen' de night-tam, for dey 're alway on de move;
Jus' see de shadder dancin' up an' down, up an' down,
You t'ink dem geese was passin' in an' out between de tree
W'en de branch is bendin' over on de water all aroun'
Now you see de place I 'm talkin', dat 's de Rivière des Prairies!

Missouri! Mississippi! better wait till you go back--
No tam for talk about dem w'en dis reever you can see,
But watch de cloud a-sailin' lak a racer on de track,
An' lissen to de music of de Rivière des Prairies--
An' up along de shore dere, don't you envy Bord à Plouffe?
Oh! dat's de place is lucky, have de reever come so near--
I 'm knowin' all de people, ev'ry chimley, ev'ry roof,
For Bord à Plouffe she never change on over feefty year!

St. Martin's bell is ringin', can't you hear it easy now?
Dey 're marryin' or buryin' some good ole frien' of me,
I wonder who it can be, don't matter anyhow,
So long as we 're a-lookin' on de Rivière des Prairies.
Only notice how de sun shine w'en he's comin' out to peep,
I 'm sure he 's leetle brighter dan anyw'ere you see,
An' w'en de fall is over, an' de reever 's gone to sleep,
De w'ites' snow is fallin' on de Rivière des Prairies!

I love you, dear ole reever, more dan ev'ry Yankee wan;
An' if I get de money, you will see me on de train,
Wit' couple o' t'ousan' dollar, den hooraw! it 's goodbye, John!
You can kill me if you ketch me leavin' Bord à Plouffe again.
But sometam it 'll happen dat a feller 's gettin' stop
Because he's comin' busy wit' de wife an' familee--
No matter, if de good God he won't forget to drop,
Ev'ry day an' night, hees blessin' on de Rivière des Prairies!English