The Log Driver's Waltz is a Canadian

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

song, written by Wade Hemsworth. ''The Log Driver's Waltz'' is also a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

animated film from the

National Film Board The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

, released in 1979 as part of its

Canada Vignettes Canada Vignettes are a series of short films by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), some of which aired on CBC Television and other Canadian broadcasters as interstitial programs. The vignettes became popular because of their cultural depicti ...

series.

Song information

The song celebrates the profession of log driving, a practice in the

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

industry which involved transporting felled

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

by having workers walk or run on the logs as they floated down

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s. This occupation required a great deal of strength and physical agility, and Hemsworth was struck by how much the sight of log drivers at work resembled

dancing Dance is an art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements or ...

. The song's chorus is:

For he goes birling down and down the white water
That's where the log driver learns to step lightly
It's birling down, and down white water
A log driver's waltz pleases girls completely.

The lyrics are often misheard as "whirling" or "twirling" instead of "birling". "Birl" is an old Scots verb meaning "to revolve or cause to revolve", and in modern English means "to cause a floating log to rotate by treading". Today, birling survives as a competitive sport. The song also contains considerable double-entendre, beginning with the sentiments of the opening stanza:

If you ask any girl from the parish around,
What pleases her most from her head to her toes;
She'll say, "I'm not sure that it's business of yours,
But I do like to waltz with a log driver."

Many artists have recorded renditions of the song, which is an enduring classic of Canadian music. The most famous version, by

Kate & Anna McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of folk rock and country folk Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed together until Kate's death in 2010 ...

and the Mountain City Four, was the soundtrack for a 1979

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

short film by the

. Captain Tractor's version of the song was also a popular

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

hit in the late 1990s. The Hidden Cameras, an

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band from Canada, recorded a version of the song on their 2016 release, Home On Native Land.

Film information

''Log Driver's Waltz'', the 1979 animated adaptation, was directed by John Weldon.Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award – 1979-Cartoon Research
/ref> The animation is set to the recording of the song by

with, and as part of, The Mountain City Four. The film is one of the most-requested in the entire collection of the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

. The NFB also produced a French version of the film, "La valse du maître draveur", with lyrics translated by Philippe Tatartcheff, the McGarrigle sisters' longtime collaborator. The animation aired on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

in the United States as part of the ''O Canada'' anthology series.

References

External links

* *Weldon, John {{DEFAULTSORT:Log Driver's Waltz, The 1979 animated short films 1979 films 1979 songs Animated musical films Canadian animated short films Films based on songs Films directed by John Weldon Forestry in Canada National Film Board of Canada animated short films Quebec films Wade Hemsworth songs 1970s Canadian animated films Canadian musical short films

Song information

Film information

See also

References

External links