The Oda G
(Stanley G. Triggs)

1. Come all you jolly tugboatmen
And listen unto me
While I tell you a story of hardships and glory
Of a lusty old life on the deep briny sea.

2. There once was a stalwart old tugboat,
Her name was the Oda G.
And I'll let you know, boys, at pullin' a tow, boys,
There was no huskier tugboat than she.

3. She came off the ways in 'eighty-nine,
For storms she cared not a damn
It was boasted around, 'twas the talk of the town
That she knew that old coastline as well as a man.

4. Now her mate was an expert at running the logs
He ne'er seemed to come to no harm
But he ran out of luck when he fell in the chuck
With a rusty old boom-chain wrapped round his left arm.

5. Her engineer was a lazy young tramp
All day he did nothin' but read
On the fantail he sat on his young lazy prat
Till a big roarin' wave swept him into the sea[weed].

6. And her deckhand was paintin' the bulwarks so fine,
Paintin' so carefully,
But he met his fate when, to admire his paintin',
He took a step back and fell into the sea.

7. Now her skipper, he was very fine man
At seafarin' he was a pip
But without a crew he didn't know what to do
So he grabbed up a lifebelt and abandoned the ship.

8. But the old Oda G. she kept tuggin' along
She towed those logs down to Long Bay
And old Penney [the owner] hurrayed for the money he saved
And he sent her back north on the very next day.

Copyright Stanley G. Triggs,
and on his record, "Bunkhouse and Forecastle Songs of the
Northwest" (Folkways).
JB