As I leaned o'er the rail of the Eagle,
The letter boy brought unto me,
A little gilt-edged invitation,
Sayin' the girls want you over for tea.
Sure I knew the O'Hooligans sent it,
And I went just for old friendship sake,
And the first thing they gave me to tackle,
Was a slice of the Trinity Cake.
There were bird calls,
flutes, and mouth organs,
With handles of double edged files,
Corners of clergymen's pockets,
And pieces of broken bass viols.
Blue lights and petticoat jumpers,
That would build up a fine stomach ache,
For 'twould kill a man twice after eating a slice
Of this wonderful Trinity Cake.
Mrs O'Hooligan, proud as a peacock,
Kept smilin' and blinkin' away,
While her daughter Johanna, a spinster,
Was helping the boys to the "tay".
There was everything on the table,
That a man or a woman could take,
And my eyes nearly burst from their sockets,
For a taste of the Trinity Cake.
Ellen Reardigan wanted to taste it,
And she struggled near ready to bust,
Two sealers attacked it with handspikes,
To try and remove the top crust.
Then McCarthy went out for a hatchet,
And Flannigan grabbed an old saw,
That cake was enough, by the powers,
To paralyze any man's jaw.
McCarthy complained of his stomach,
And Morgan felt bad in the head,
And Hogan crawled near the melodeon,
And fervently wished he was dead.
And Flannigan grabbed the accordion,
And there he did wriggle and shake,
And all of them swore
they were poisoned or more,
From eating this wonderful cake.
There were glass eyes,
bull's eyes, and fresh butter,
Lamp wicks and liniment, too,
Pastry as hard as a shutter,
That a billy goat's jaw couldn't chew.
Tobacco and whiskers of crackies,
That would give you the fever and ache,
You'd crack off from the knees
if you happen to sneeze,
After eating this Trinity Cake.
####.... Johnny Burke of St John's, NL [1851-1930] ....####
Also published on pp.23-24 of Songs Of Newfoundland, a complimentary booklet of lyrics to twenty-one songs distributed by the Bennett Brewing Co Ltd, of St John's, NL, with the cooperation of the Gerald S Doyle Song Book from which the above lyrics were obtained.
The video above features a variant arranged by Ryan's Fancy and televised on the Ryan's Fancy CBC television series in the mid-1970s.
A song along this same theme was recorded as Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake by The McNulty Family (Decca Records, 78RPM, 1941).
Another song along this same theme but with a different tune was collected in 1958 from Levi Everett Bennett [1899-?] of St Paul's, NL, by Kenneth Peacock and published as
The Rich Wedding Cake in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports,
Vol 1, pp.92-93, by the National Museum Of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
A very similar variant was arranged and recorded by Omar Blondahl (A Visit To Newfoundland With Omar Blondahl, trk#8, 1958 LP, Rodeo International, Mount Albert, ON, distributed by London Records of Canada); and (16 Songs Of Newfoundland, trk#5, 1959 LP, Banff-Rodeo, Halifax, NS, distributed by London Records of Canada); and (Famous Songs Of Newfoundland, trk#11, 1978 LP, Rodeo Records, Mt Albert, ON); and (Canadian Country Classics: Songs From The Rock, trk#5, 1997 CD, Rodeo Records, Mt Albert, ON).
From The Dictionary of Newfoundland English: Crackie - small dog. A lap dog, lively, frisking and barking. Sealer - Man who prosecutes the seal fishery from a land base near his community; one engaged to hunt seals from a vessel in the ice-floes off Newfoundland and Labrador or in the Gulf of St Lawrence.
From Wikipedia: Handspike - bar or lever, generally of wood, used in a windlass or capstan, for heaving anchor and, in modified forms, for various other purposes.
From Wordplays: Tay - tea.
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Notes On Tabs:
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All tabs have been contributed by visitors to this site and represent their interpretation of the tune. We are unable to verify their accuracy.
[C] As I leaned o'er the rail of the [G7] Eagle,
[G7] The letter boy brought unto [C] me,
[C] A little gilt edged invi- [F] tation,
Sayin' the [C] girls want you [G7] over for [C] tea. {Same tab progression repeats}
Sure I knew the O'Hooligans sent it,
And I went just for old friendship sake,
And the first thing they gave me to tackle,
Was a slice of the Trinity Cake.
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