MID-LIFE CANOE CLUB-Paddling The North Knife Song

The Song


Most songs written on the spur of the moment last about that long. This one is different, and every time I sing the first two verses and the chorus,  I feel the intensity of those few days on the river, and as the old Indian saying goes: 
My heart soars like a hawk.





MIDLIFE ON THE NORTH KNIFE
by Eric Pettigrew, Randy Case, John Moses, Dexter Davison, Pete Vanacore, & Gary Schofield
©Copyright 1999 All rights reserved 


When you're paddling the river they call the North Knife
And your crewmates are passing the peak of mid-life
When you feel your heart aching for family and wife
And you know you're a long way from home.


 When the waters are white and the current is strong
When the wind's in your face and the portage is long
When your mind says JUST QUIT let your voice sing this song
And the river will carry you home


 CHORUS


Stroke, Stroke through the wind and the rain
Remember your goal and forget all your pain
Drive, Drive through the waves and the foam
And the river will carry you home.


Now the crew's acts of courage we will now recreate
A few choice tales of woe and some strange twists of fate
Though the essence is true we may tend to inflate
Still the river will carry us home


Now our leader was Dexter, a man of true grit
At three score and seven incredibly fit
Did the work of three men and he never did sit
And we knew he would lead us all home.


Without carbos our Randy was out of his mind
Between courage and crazy he crisscrossed the line
While assuring the crew that it all was just fine
But we doubted he'd ever get home


CHORUS


Now Johnny was typically taking a bath
To appease all our wives was the medical staff
His photos will help us all retrace our path
When we sit in the comfort of home


Both Petty's quick wit and his odours were strong
An embarking one morning went terribly wrong
His flip in the rapids made a chilly day long 
But his shivering prompted this tome.


Now Gary was big and he brought a big gun
His thirty-ought-six would give us all some fun
He paddled like crazy and portaged a ton
And we called him the Big Evinrude


 And Pete from New York was our resident bard
By paddling with Petty his record was marred
His three tentmates from Duke made his sleeping quite hard
Which produced and occasional moan.


CHORUS


While our loved ones at home were biting their nails
We were sliding down rapids with heads over tails
Re-enacting a ritual exclusive to males
But we still had our satellite phone


Now a midlife in crisis can bring on excess
A floozy and and drinking can make life a mess
But our Mid Life Canoe Club will be a success
If our loved ones will welcome us home.


When the waters are white and the current is strong
When the wind's in your face and the portage is long
When your mind says JUST QUIT let your heart sing this song
And the river will carry you home


Stroke, Stroke through the wind and the rain
Remember your goal and forget all your pain
Drive, Drive through the waves and the foam 
And the river will carry you home.

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