C                         F      G      C
Well I used to be a farmer and I made a living fine
  F            C                G
I had a little stretch of land along the CP line
        C                                    F     G      C
But the times went by and though I tried the money wasn't there
    F                C                G                C
And bankers came and took my land and told me "fair is fair"
  Am                               D
I looked for every kind of job the answer always "no,"
Am                                       G
"Hire you now?" they'd always laugh, "We just let twenty go!"
    Am                             D
The government, they promised me a measly little sum
    Am                                G
But I've got too much pride to end up just another bum
F                                                    C
Then I thought "who gives a damn if all the jobs are gone,
D                       G
I'm gonna be a pirate on the River Saskatchewan..."  (Arrrrrgh!)

Chorus:

                      C          C    F      G        C
'cause it's a Heave!  Ho! High!  Ho!  Coming down the plains
F                  C          G
Stealing wheat and barley and all the other grains
                C            C     F       G        C
And it's a Ho!  Hey!  High!  Hey!  Farmers bar your doors
         F             C        G               C
When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores
Well you'd think the local farmers would know that I'm at large
But just the other day I found an unprotected barge
I snuck up right behind them and they were none the wiser
I rammed the ship and sank it, and I stole their fertilizer

A bridge outside of Moose Jaw spans the mighty river
Farmers cross in so much fear their stomachs are a quiver
'Cause they know that Tractor Jack is hiding in the bay
I'll jump the bridge and knock 'em cold and sail off with the hay

Chorus

Well Mountie Bob, he chased me, he was always at my throat
He'd follow on the shore line but he didn't own a boat
But cutbacks were a comin' so the Mountie lost his job
So now he's sailin' with me and we call him "Salty Bob"

A swinging sword a scum 'n bones and pleasant company
I never pay my income tax, and screw the GST -- "Screw It!"
Prince Albert down to Saskatoon, the terror of the sea,
If you want to reach the Co-Op boy, you gotta get by me

Chorus

Well pirate life's appealing, but you don't just find me here
I've heard that in Alberta there's a band of buccaneers
They roam the Athabasca, from Smith to Fort McKay
And you're gonna loose your Stetson if you have to pass their way

Well winter is a comin' and the chill is in the breeze
My pirate days are over once the river starts to freeze
I'll be back in springtime, but now I have to go
I hear there's lots of plundering down in New Mexico

Chorus x3

- Appearing on (among others) their album Live Bait, the Arrogant Worms, the composers of this fine piece of Canadiana, have graciously granted permission for their lyrics to appear on E2. Until we fully duplicate it (they have a /lot/ of albums) dig up more in the Dirt Pile at: http://www.arrogant-worms.com.