The Squid Jiggin' Ground written by Arthur Scammell (1928) is a song that describes a traditional way of life of local

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

fisherman. The song is unique in that it describes the method of jigging for squid and the type of equipment and circumstance that revolve around the activity. The song is sung to the traditional

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

jig '' Larry O'Gaff''.{{Cite web, url=https://thesession.org/tunes/498, title = Larry O'Gaff's (Jig) on the Session On 1 April 1949, in ceremonies marking Newfoundland's confederation with Canada, the tune was played as the representative song for Newfoundland on the

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

of the

Peace Tower The Peace Tower (french: link=no, Tour de la Paix) is a focal bell and clock tower sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. The present incarnation replaced the Victoria Tower af ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. Arthur Scammell was actually in Ottawa on the day and was surprised to hear 'his' tune being played. It was recorded by

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on t ...

on a single for the Canadian market and by Finest Kind for their album Heart's Delight.

Stompin' Tom Connors Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, OC (February 9, 1936 – March 6, 2013) was a Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter. Focusing his career exclusively on his native Canada, he is credited with writing more than 300 songs and has rele ...

also sang the song back in 1973 at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto Canada, a performance available on his live DVD "Across This Land With Stompin Tom Connors".

Notes

Recordings

* Finest Kind ''Heart's Delight'' 1999 *

The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. The group are currently composed of Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce and Tsehay Hawkins, as well as supporting members Evie Ferris, John Pearce, Ca ...

and Tom McGlynn '' Let's Eat!'' 2010 *

and

Tim Chaisson Timothy Chaisson (born September 6, 1986) is a Canadian singer/songwriter from Souris, Prince Edward Island. He is a member of Juno Award winning group, The East Pointers. Early years Tim Chaisson is a member of the extended Chaisson family, ...

''Duets'' 2017 *

Ryan's Fancy Ryan’s Fancy was an Music of Ireland, Irish folk music group active from 1971–1983. The band consisted of multi-instrumentalists Denis Ryan (singer), Denis Ryan, Fergus O'Byrne, and Dermot O'Reilly, all of whom were Ireland, Irish immigra ...

*Mark Alan Lovewell ''Sea Songs Of Martha’s Vineyard'' 2002 remastered 2004

External links

Newfoundland Heritage, Traditional SongsDictionary of Newfoundland EnglishSquid Jiggin’ Ground Larry O'Gaff, The Session
Canadian folk songs Newfoundland and Labrador folk songs

Notes

See also

Recordings

External links