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I shall set out on the river with the bright sunrise
And the surface of the river speckled 'neath the shadows of the trees
Where mighty floods crash into one another
And the Black River bursts into the Ottawa.
I will steer for the place where the Ottawa thunders
Down the fabled fur-route of long-ago voyageurs
In the realm of the Algonquin, on the course of the drive,
In the land of the white pine I will be buried.
My paddle's blade will slice easily through the water
As I make for Da Swishaw, my canoe as swift as a seal
On strong birch-bark sides the river music will play
Till it is lost in the thunder of the high waterfall before me.
Will you come with me, love, across Allumette Lake
Where we'll find the great blue heron ar high Oiseaux Rock?
She will spread her wings majestically over us
And disappear gracefully into the sky.
When we have reached the Chapeau before the purple sunset
There'll be whiskey on the table for the night's revelry
Where I'll drink your health till the bright morning comes,
Beneath the dew of your sweet lips as you lie by my side.