“Paddle Your Own Canoe”
Pa stopped. ‘That song doesn’t fit!’ he exclaimed. ‘What was I thinking of! Now here’s something worth singing.’ – Merrily the fiddle sang and Pa sang with it. Laura and Mary and Carrie sang too, with all their might. — By the Shores of Silver Lake, Chapter 14, “The Surveyors’ House”
In 1854, Dr. Edward Philpots dedicated a poem to Harry Clifton which was published in Harper’s Weekly Magazine: “Voyager upon life’s sea, to yourself be true. And whate’er your lot may be, Paddle your own canoe…” This was the inspiration for the singer and songwriter’s own lyrics, “Paddle Your Own Canoe,” published in 1867, sung to a variation of the standard “Old Rosin the Beau.” In the manuscript for By the Shores of Silver Lake, Wilder wrote that Pa played “Old Rosin the Beau” one night in the Surveyors’ House before asking Mary what she would like to hear. This was edited out of the published version.
Harry Clifton (1824-1872) wrote popular lyrics that always had a moral while being sentimental but not too “mushy;” he became known as the writer of Motto Songs. Born in London and orphaned at a young age, Clifton showed talent for music as a child and began to perform and write music as soon as he was able. While he wrote lyrics for over 500 songs, Clifton often borrowed well-known music to accompany them.
Charles Ingalls sings “Paddle Your Own Canoe” the first night the family is alone in the Surveyors’ House, to celebrate their independence and good fortune in being able to live so comfortably all winter. After this song, Pa played on and on, “jigs and reels and hornpipes and marches.” Nobody thought about bedtime.
1. I’ve traveled about a bit in my time,
And of troubles I’ve seen a few,
But found it better in every clime,
To paddle my own canoe.
My wants are small, I care not at all
If my debts are paid when due;
I drive away strife in the ocean of life,
While I paddle my own canoe.
[chorus] Then love your neighbor as yourself,
As the world you go traveling through,
And never sit down with a tear and a frown,
But paddle your own canoe.
2. I have no wife to bother my life,
No lover to prove untrue;
But the whole day long with a laugh and a song,
I paddle my own canoe.
I rise with the lark, and drom daylight till dark,
I do what I have to do;
I’m careless of wealth, if I’ve only the health
To paddle my own canoe.
3. It’s all very well to depend on a friend,
That is, if you have proved him true;
But you’ll find it better by far in the end,
To paddle your own canoe.
To borrow is dearer by far than to buy,
A maxim, though old, still true;
You never will sigh, if you only will try
To paddle your canoe.
4. If a hurricane rise in the mid-day skies,
And the sun is lost to view,
Move steadily by, with a steadfast eye,
And paddle your own canoe.
The daisies that grow in the bright green fields,
Are blooming so sweet for thee.
So never sit down with a tear and a frown,
But paddle your own canoe.
(from By the Shores of Silver Lake)
I’ve traveled about a bit in my time
And of troubles I’ve seen a few
But found it better in every clime
To paddle my own canoe.
My wants are few. I care not at all
If my debts are paid when due.
I drive away strife in the ocean of life
While I paddle my own canoe.
Then love your neighbor as yourself
As the world you go traveling through
And never sit down with a tear or a frown
But paddle your own canoe!
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Click on the above images to view a copy of original sheet music of “Paddle Your Own Canoe.”
This music is archived in the Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music, part of Special Collections at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library of The Johns Hopkins University. The collection contains over 29,000 pieces of music and focuses on popular American music from 1780-1960.
“Paddle Your Own Canoe” (SSL 14)
“I’ve traveled about a bit in my time”