Written and recorded by Slaid Cleaves on the cd 'Broke
Down'
(Am)In the melting snows of Ont(C)ario where the (G)
wind'll make you (Am)shiver.
'Twas the (A)month of May up in (C)Georgian Bay near
the (G)mouth of the Musquash (Am)River.
Where the (C)bears prowl and the (G)coyotes howl and
you can (Am)hear the osprey scream.
Back in (G)'99 we were cutting pine and (Am)sending it
(G)down the (Am)stream.
Young Sandy Gray came to Go Home Bay all the way from
P.E.I.
Where the weather's rough and it makes you tough, no
man's afraid to die.
Sandy came a smilin', 30,000 Islands was the place to
claim his glory.
Now Sandy's gone but his name lives on, and this is
Sandy's story.
Chorus One
Young (C)Sandy Gray lives (Am)on today in the
(C)echoes of a mighty (Am)yell.
(G)Listen close and you'll hear a ghost in this
(Am)story (G)that I (Am)tell, boys.
This (Am)story (C)that I (Am)tell.
Now Sandy Gray was boss of the men who'd toss the
trees onto the shore.
They'd come and go till they'd built a floe of 100,000
logs or more.
And he'd ride 'em down toward Severn Sound to cut 'em
up in the mills for timber.
And ships would haul, spring, summer, and fall, 'til
the ice came in December.
One Sabbath Day, big Sandy Gray came into camp with a
peavey on his shoulder.
With a thunder crack he dropped his axe and the room
got a little bit colder.
Said 'Come all you, we've got work to do. We've gotta
give 'er all we can give 'er.
'There's a jam of logs at the little jog near the
mouth of the Musquash River.
With no time to pray on the Lord's Day, they were
hoping for God's forgiveness.
But the jam was high in a troubled sky and they set
about their business.
They poked with their poles and ran with the rolls and
tried to stay on their feet.
Every trick they tried and one man cried 'This log
jam's got us beat.'
Chorus two
But Sandy Gray was not afraid and he let out a mighty
yell.
'I'll be damned, we'll break this jam, or it's
breakfast in Hell, boys.'
'Breakfast in Hell.'
Now every one of the men did the work of ten and Sandy
scrambled up to the top.
He's working like a dog heaving 30 foot logs and it
looked like he'd never stop.
They struggled on those men so strong till the jam
began to sway.
Then they dove for cover to the banks of the river all
except for Sandy Gray.
Now with thoughts of death they held their breath as
they saw their friend go down.
They all knew in a second or two he'd be crushed or
frozen or drowned.
They saw him fall and they heard him call, just once
and then it was over.
Young Sandy Gray gave his life that day near the mouth
of the Musquash River.
Chorus three.
But Sandy Gray was not afraid and he let out a mighty
yell.
'I'll be damned, we'll break that jam, or it's
breakfast in Hell, boys.'
'Breakfast in Hell.'
East of Giant's Tomb, there's plenty of room, there's
no fences and no walls.
And if you listen close, you'll hear a ghost, down by
Sandy Gray Falls.
Through the tops of the trees, you'll hear in the
breeze, the echoes of a might yell.
'I'll be damned, we'll break this jam, or it's
breakfast in Hell.'
Chorus four.
And sandy Gray lives on today in the echoes of a
mighty yell.
'I'll be damned, we'll break this jam, or it's
breakfast in Hell, boys.'
'Breakfast in Hell.'
Note - P.E.I. is presumably Prince Edward Island.