Isaac Brock portrait 1, from The Story of Isaac Brock (1908)

"The Bold Canadian" was a patriotic song for Canadians that originated during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. It celebrated the conquering of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

History

It is believed that "The Bold Canadian" was written by a private from the Third York Militia's First Flank Company named

Cornelius Flummerfelt Cornelius may refer to: People * Cornelius (name), Roman family name and a masculine given name * Pope Cornelius, pope from AD 251 to 253 * St. Cornelius (disambiguation), multiple saints * Cornelius (musician), stage name of Keigo Oyamada * Metro ...

, who wrote the lines while marching in the Detroit campaign, or on the way back to

York, Upper Canada York was a town and second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the Old Toronto, old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for th ...

.Hickey p.351 The song was used to further increase the numbers of Canadian militia to fight during the war. Although composed in late 1812, the first publication of the song was not until 1907, when the Niagara Historical Society printed part of the song in a pamphlet about

Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. Brock was assigned to Lower Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he c ...

. Until 1907, the song was passed down in oral traditions; therefore, different versions of the song came to be. Full versions of the song were not published until 1927 when the Ontario Historical Society published two different versions of the song. In 1960, a third version was published; all three varied, with different stanzas and order of stanzas. Although unpublished, the song remained popular in Canada throughout the nineteenth century, while a comparable American song, "

The Hunters of Kentucky "The Hunters of Kentucky", also called "The Battle of New Orleans" and "Half Horse and Half Alligator", was a song written to commemorate Andrew Jackson's victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans. In both 1824 and 1828 Jackson used ...

", lost its popularity by the end of the Jacksonian Era.Hickey p.352

Lyrics

Alternative lyrics

Source

Geoff Berner's "Come All Ye Bold Canadians (Song of the War of 1812)" lyrics

In 2011 Canadian folk-singer

Geoff Berner Geoff Berner (born 1971) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician from Vancouver. Musical career Berner originally studied piano in his youth. At a party, somebody asked him why he did not play the accordion. As a result, he began learni ...

recorded, "Come All Ye Bold Canadians (Song of the War of 1812)," as part of Henry Adam Svec's recording project.Berner, Geoff, "Come All Ye Bold Canadians (Song of the War of 1812)." From

History

Lyrics

Alternative lyrics

Geoff Berner's "Come All Ye Bold Canadians (Song of the War of 1812)" lyrics

See also

References

Further reading