Editing I's the B'y

{{Short description|Traditional Newfoundland folk song}}
'''"I'se the B'y"''' ([[Roud Folk Song Index|Roud]] 4432, also '''I's the Bye''' or '''Liverpool Handy''') is a traditional [[Music of Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland folk song]]/[[ballad]]. "I's the B'y" is in the [[Newfoundland English]] dialect, and translates to [[standard English]] as "I'm the Boy" or "I'm the Guy". The [[Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame]] decided to honour the song in 2005, officially accepting it as part of the Canadian Song Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cansong.ca/en/inductees/2005.aspx |title=Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame 2005 |access-date=2006-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060826014559/http://www.cansong.ca/en/inductees/2005.aspx |archive-date=2006-08-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Native [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] [[Folk music|folk songs]] have fared well in terms of continued popularity, due in part to their appearance in widely circulated publications such as Gerald S. Doyle's songsters. Doyle's company published five free and popular collections of Newfoundland songs, the first in 1927, as a means of promoting his [[patent medicine]] business. These songs included "I'se the B'y", "[[Tickle Cove Pond]]", "[[Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor]]", "[[Old Polina]]", "[[The Ryans and the Pittmans]]", and "[[Lukey's Boat]]".

Professional musicians including Clint Curtiss, [[Dick Nolan (musician)|Dick Nolan]], [[Great Big Sea]] and [[Gordon Bok]] have recorded the song (the latter under both its original name and the title "Liverpool Handy"). [[Toronto]]-based [[Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker]] sampled the lyrics in their first single, "Hollowpoint Sniper Hyperbole". An instrumental version of the song was also played in episode two of the [[HBO]] series ''The Neistat Brothers''.<ref>"Episode 2." ''The Neistat Brothers''. Home Box Office. 2010. Television.</ref>

A [[Strathspey (dance)|Strathspey]] for [[Pan flute|pan flutes]] was composed in honour of "I's the B'y".<ref>Archie Cairns - Book 1 Pipe Music 'I'se The B'yse' Strathspey 1995</ref>

==Lyrics==

I's the b'y that builds the boat<br>
And I's the b'y that sails her<br>
I's the b'y that catches the fish{{ref|fish}}<br>
And brings them home to Liza. (or ''Lizer'')

''Chorus:''
Hip yer partner, Sally Thibault <br>
Hip yer partner, Sally Brown<br>
[[Fogo, Newfoundland and Labrador|Fogo]], [[Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador|Twillingate]], [[Moreton's Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador|Moreton's Harbour]]<br>
All around the circle!

[[Sod]]s and rinds{{ref|rind}} to cover your flake{{ref|flake}}<br>
Cake{{ref|cake}} and tea for supper<br>
[[Cod]]fish caught in the spring o' the year<br>
Fried in maggoty butter.

''Chorus:''

I don't want your [[maggot]]y fish{{ref|magotty}}<br>
They're no good for winter<br>
I could buy as good as that<br>
Down in [[Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador|Bonavista]].

''Chorus:''

I took Liza to a dance<br>
As fast as she could travel<br>
And every step that she did take<br>
Was up to her knees in gravel.

''Chorus:''

Susan White, she's out of sight<br>
Her petticoat wants a border<br>
Old Sam Oliver in the dark<br>
He kissed her in the corner.

==See also==
* [[List of Newfoundland songs]]

==Notes==
#{{note|fish}}''fish:'' Unless otherwise specified, "fish" in Newfoundland English almost always refers to codfish, [http://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/azindex/pages/1643.html fish entry at the Dictionary of Newfoundland English]
#{{note|rind}}''rind:'' A long strip of bark, normally from a standing [[spruce]] or [[fir]], and used for various fisheries and building purposes, [http://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/azindex/pages/3675.html rind entry at the Dictionary of Newfoundland English]
#{{note|flake}}''flake:'' A platform built on poles and spread with boughs for drying codfish on land, [http://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/azindex/pages/1670.html flake entry at the Dictionary of Newfoundland English]
#{{note|cake}}''cake:'' Ship's biscuit or [[hardtack]], [http://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/azindex/pages/670.html cake entry at the Dictionary of Newfoundland English]
#{{note|maggoty}}''maggoty fish:'' Fish when not [[Curing (food preservation)|cured]] correctly would become infested with [[Blow-fly]] [[larva]], [http://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/azindex/pages/2811.html maggoty entry at the Dictionary of Newfoundland English]

==References==
{{reflist}}


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[[Category:Canadian folk songs]]
[[Category:Newfoundland and Labrador folk songs]]
[[Category:Songs about fishers]]
[[Category:Year of song unknown]]
[[Category:Great Big Sea songs]]