Story Behind the Song
As homesteaders came to the west to open the land, they would "mail" to the east to swoon women to come west with promises of good family life and new prosperity. These "brides" would arrive to find desolation, bitter conditions, and little comfort. They would be doomed to a hard, lonely life, and many would never see their family or homes again. The bagpipes symbolize the cultural roots of Prince Edward Island. The song is a reflection based on the real life story of the writer's grandmother, Eliza Meighan Hunt.
Lyrics
Oh, why, fair Meighan, did you come to the west
To join me out here on this unbroken ground
And give up your life, all the finest and best
Out of fair Charlottetown
Out of fair Charlottetown.
Come dance, pretty Meighan, my partner, my wife
Tell me what made you choose such a hard, lonely life.
No doubt, we could never afford to go down
To see again fair Charlottetown,
To sea again fair Charlottetown.
But when the crop comes in, we'll dance again
We'll paint these bare walls if a good rain falls.
And the bad news from France about your brother
We'll pray for him
When the crop comes in.
And when the crop comes in we'll dance again
When the threshing crew is through I'll be home to you
And the bad news from France about your brother
We'll pray for him
When the crop comes in
Oh how, mother dear did you stay in the west
And bear these five sons and a daughter so fair
With only the riches of the grand-kids at best,
And a sweet song when Sunday comes 'round
And a sweet song when Sunday comes 'round.
Now at last, your spirit is free to go down . . .
To see again fair Charlottetown . . .
To sea again fair Charlottetown.
© words and music by John Spearn
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