Home again! home again! bend to the oar!
Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur_
He rides on the river with his paddle in his hand,
And his boat is his shelter on the water and the land.
The clam in his shell and the water turtle too,
And the brave boatman's shell is his birch bark canoe.
So pull away, boatmen, bend to the oar;
Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur_.

Home again! home again! bend to the oar!
Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur_.
His couch is as downy as a couch can be,
For he sleeps on the feathers of the green fir-tree.
He dines on the fat of the pemmican-sack,
And his _eau de vie_ is the _eau de lac_.
So pull away, boatmen; bend to the oar;
Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur_.

Home again! home again! bend to the oar!
Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur_.
The brave, jolly boatman,--he never is afraid
When he meets at the portage a red, forest maid,
A Huron, or a Cree, or a blooming Chippeway;
And he marks his trail with the _bois brules_.
So pull away, boatmen; bend to the oar;
Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur_.
Home again! home again! bend to the oar!
Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur_.

[a] Fire arm--spirit metal.