Wreck of the Bayrupert

Words and Music: Larry Kaplan
(Recorded by Tom Lewis on Mixed Cargo)

The Hudson's Bay Company runs ships in the summertime,
And they stock the stores of the Labrador
and they stock them full for the wintertime,
Bayrupert set sail from the Clyde outbound for Newfoundland,
But to get to Hopedale don't you know - you'd be better off by land.

They've got no charts on the Labrador - all you hear is: "Stay away",breitling replica
For there's rocks and ice, dark as hell at night
from Jack Lane's Way to Broomfield Bay,
They've got wooden ships, steamer ships, with frozen men below,
They've got mountains right beneath your keel, so for God's sake don't you go.

She had shoes and coffee, boots and tea, butter, pipes and bridles,
Sleeping bags and saddle soap and she brought a gross of bibles,
She was open wide, steaming through the tide when she hit them granite rocks,
Both her ends went down with a mighty sound and the middle opened up.

It was Sunday when that ship went down, the town was all to prayer,
No missionary minister with the words of God could have kept them there,
"All's lost! All's lost!" The captain cried; "I'll never sail the more!",
"All's found, all's found!"; yelled the Innu as they ran down to the shore.

When the tide came in those goods did too, they saved them from the sea,
Saying: "It's great to be doing business with the Hudson's Bay Company",
"We've got shoes and coffee, boots and tea, butter, pipes and bridles,
We've got sleeping bags and saddle soap - but to hell with all them bibles!"

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