Alaskan Parody Songs
News of the Alaska-Klondike
gold strike burst upon the outside world in the summer of 1897. By autumn at
least 100,000 ‘stampeders’ were on their way north. Jean A. Murray wrote that
while ‘we often envision the era of the great northern gold rushes as a silent
panorama of sepia-toned stillness…. it was not a time lived in black and white,
nor – most definitely – in silence’.
Early pioneers brought with them the
ballads and songs popular at the time in the continental or ‘lower states,’ and
they carried their instruments banjos,
balalaikas, dulcimers, guitars, fiddles, trombones, and trumpets, as well as
pianos and even an organ on river
boats, dog sleds and on foot. Murray found in collecting more than 100 tunes
from the period that the prospectors’ lives ‘were pervaded with music, from
rowdy tunes that set their boots stomping in the dance halls to mournful
laments for distant home and families.’ Singers, dancers, and even whole
orchestras joined the trail together with eager prospectors and determined
entrepreneurs.
Stephen Foster songs were often performed. Parodies of then
popular songs were numerous. A typical example was ‘On the Banks of the Yukon’ (Music of the Alaska-Klondike Gold Rush) a lampoon of Paul Dresser’s
1896 tune ‘On the Banks of the Wabash’ by Eugene Schmitz, who had been a member
of the San Francisco Symphony before he left for the northland aboard the
sternwheeler Yukoner. He was not particularly successful as a miner and
returned to San Francisco. During the terrible earthquake of 1906 he was mayor
of the city.
Murray, Jean A. Music of the Alaska-Klondike Gold Rush: Songs and History: Fairbanks U of Alaska Press.1999. 29-32
A parody is a literary composition imitating an author's work for the purpose of ridicule.
Synonyms: takeoff, imitation, travesty, burlesque
( Words by Eugene Schmitz)
(Sung to the tune of “On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away”) (Original words and Music by Paul Dressler)
There’s a river in Alaska called the Yukon,
About which some fool author
wrote a song.
But he surely must have been
dreaming,
Or else his imagination
proved him wrong.
Why the water in that river
is so shallow,
The fish stand on their heads
to swim,
The mosquitoes are so thick
along the Yukon,
You have to wear an armor
made of tin.
Chorus: Oh, the midnight sun
shines bright along the Yukon,
Upon its banks there is a
never-ending day,
Through the pine trees the
never setting sun is gleaming
On the banks of the Yukon far away.
(Sung to the tune of “She’ll be Coming ‘Round the Mountain”)
She’ll be coming down the
Kobuk when she comes (mush, mush)
She’ll be coming down the
Kobuk when she comes,
She’ll be coming round the
Kobuk,
She’ll be coming round the
Kobuk,
She’ll be coming down the
Kobuk when she comes (mush, mush).
She’ll be driving 6 white
huskies when she comes (gee, haw)
She’ll be driving 6 white
huskies when she comes,
She’ll be driving 6 white
huskies,
She’ll be driving 6 white
huskies,
She’ll be driving 6 white
huskies when she comes (gee, haw).
Oh, we’ll all go out to meet
her when she comes (hi, bart)
Oh, we’ll all go out to meet
her when she comes,
Oh, we’ll all go out to meet
her,
Oh, we’ll all go out to meet
her,
Oh, we’ll all go out to meet
her when she comes (hi, bart)
She’ll be wearing her new
parka when she comes (whistle)
She’ll be wearing her new
parka when she comes,
She’ll be wearing her new
parka,
She’ll be wearing her new
parka,
She’ll be wearing her new parka
when she comes (whistle).
Oh, we’ll all have caribou
stew when she comes (yum-yum)
Oh, we’ll all have caribou
stew when she comes,
Oh, we’ll all have caribou
stew,
Oh, we’ll all have caribou
stew,
Oh, we’ll all have caribou
stew when she comes (yum-yum).
(Words by Margaret Sheldon)
(Sung to the tune “She’ll be Coming ‘Round the Mountain”)
She’ll be coming o’er the
tundra when she comes, wahka!
She’ll be coming o’er the
tundra when she comes, wahka!
She’ll be coming o’er the tundra,
She’ll be coming o’er the
tundra,
She’ll be coming o’er the
tundra when she comes, wahka!
She’ll be driving 6 white
huskies when she comes, gee, haw!
She’ll be driving 6 white
huskies when she comes,
She’ll be driving 6 white
huskies,
She’ll be driving 6 white
huskies,
She’ll be driving 6 white
huskies when she comes, gee, haw, wahka!
Oh, we’ll all go out to meet
her when she comes, slapa!
Oh, we’ll all go out to meet
her when she comes
Oh, we’ll all go out to meet
her
Oh, we’ll all go out to meet
her
Oh, we’ll all go out to meet
her when she comes, slapa!
Oh, we’ll kill a big fat
walrus when she comes, eenege!
Oh, we’ll kill a big fat
walrus when she comes, eenege!
Oh, we’ll kill a big fat
walrus,
Oh, we’ll kill a big fat
walrus,
Oh, we’ll kill a big fat
walrus when she comes, eenege, slapa, gee haw, wahka!
We’ll all eat muktuk and
agootuk when she comes, eeyah!
We’ll all eat muktuk and
agootuk when she comes, eeyah!
We’ll all eat muktuk and
agootuk,
We’ll
all eat muktuk and agootuk,
We’ll all eat muktuk and
agootuk when she comes, eeyah, eenege, slapa, gee haw, wahka.
(Sung to the tune “When it’s Springtime in the Rockies”)
When it’s springtime in Alaska,
And it’s 99 below,
When the polar bears go
fishing,
In 40 feet of snow.
When the ptarmigan are
calling,
Making music all the day –
Then it’s springtime in Alaska,
In Alaska, far away.
When it’s springtime in Alaska,
And it’s 99 below,
The Eskimos go bearfoot
because they
Love the snow.
Polar bears get sunburned,
The seals they lose their
hair,
Aren’t you glad that you are
there?
Music and original text:
http://www.cowboylyrics.com/tabs/autry-gene/springtime-in-rockies-8218.html
Definitions:
1. Kobuk
2. Yukon
3. tundra
4. husky
5. parka
6. Eskimo
7. muktuk
8. agootuk
9. slapa
10. eenege
11. wahka
12. ptarmigan
Chorus: This land is your
land,
It sure ain’t my land,
From the frozen Northland
To the unpaved Alcan.
From the ice in Barrow
To the Bering Narrows,
This land was made for you,
not me.
Verse 1: The fish are
running,
Mosquitoes are buzzing,
The bears are growling,
The wolves are howling,
My car is stalling,
My kids are bawling,
This land was made for you,
not me.
Verse 2: I went out hunting
For moose and caribou,
Though the ice was frozen,
I still fell right through.
While I stood there freezing,
I moose informed me:
“This land was made for me,
not you”
Verse 3: See the earth
a-quaking,
The buildings shaking,
The tides a-rising,
The boats capsizing,
My house is battered,
My nerves are shattered,
This land is sinking in the
sea.
Chorus: This land is your
land,
It sure ain’t my land,
From the frozen Northland
To the unpaved Alcan.
From the ice in Barrow
To the Bering Narrows,
This land was made for you,
not me.
Original Text:
http://www.woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/This_Land.htm
Other Parody Songs:
The list of parody songs in this Teacher’s Lesson Plan is not complete. There are any numbers of other songs suitable for schools that should be added to it. Suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
April 2006
Suzanne Summerville, Dr. phil.
