The cremation of Sam McGee is something of a beloved traditional ballad in my family and is recited by various family members at get-togethers. I struggled remembering such a long ballad and wished it was set to music, which I find easier to put to memory. Recently I stumbled across a You-Tube video (sorry, lost the source!) of someone singing it to the tune of the "County Down." I was absolutely tickled about it and figured I'd better share. Rhythm-wise I use a more up-beat count but don't usually go quite so fast as the Irish Rovers in their County down. The Cremation of Sam McGee By Robert William Service (with slight adjustments for flow)

There are ^Emstrange things done in the ^Gmidnight ^Dsun By the ^Emmen who ^Cmoil for ^Dgold; The ^EmArctic trails have their ^Gsecret ^Dtales That would ^Emmake your ^Dblood run ^Emcold; The ^GNorthern Lights have ^Dseen queer sights, But the ^Emqueerest they ^Cever did ^Dsee Was that ^Emnight on the marge of ^GLake ^DLebarge I ^Emcremated ^DSam Mc^EmGee.

Now ^EmSam McGee was from ^GTenness^Dee, where the ^Emcotton ^Cblooms and ^Dblows. Why he ^Emleft his home in the ^GSouth to ^Droam 'round the ^EmPole, ^DGod only ^Emknows. He was ^Galways cold, but the ^Dland of gold seemed to ^Emhold him ^Clike a ^Dspell; Though he'd ^Emoften say in his ^Ghomely ^Dway that he'd ^Em"sooner ^Dlive in ^Emhell".

On a ^EmChristmas Day we were ^Gmushing our ^Dway ^Emover the ^CDawson ^Dtrail. ^EmTalk of your cold! through the ^Gparka's ^Dfold it ^Emstabbed like a ^Ddriven ^Emnail. If our ^Geyes we'd close, then the ^Dlashes froze till ^Emsometimes we ^Ccouldn't ^Dsee; It ^Emwasn't much fun, but the ^Gonly ^Done to ^Emwhimper was ^DSam ^EmMcGee.

And that ^Emvery night, as we ^Glay packed ^Dtight in our ^Emrobes benea^Cth the ^Dsnow, And the ^Emdogs were fed, and the ^Gstars over ^Dhead were ^Emdancing ^Dheel and ^Emtoe, He ^Gturned to me, and ^D"Cap," says he, "I'll ^Emcash in this ^Ctrip, I ^Dguess; And ^Emif I do, I'm ^Gasking that ^Dyou won't ^Emrefuse my ^Dlast ^Emrequest."

Well, he ^Emseemed so low that I ^Gcouldn't say ^Dno; then he ^Emsays with a ^Csort of ^Dmoan: "It's the ^Emcursed cold, and it's ^Ggot right ^Dhold till I'm ^Emchilled clean ^Dthrough to the ^Embone. Yet '^Gtain't being dead -- it's my ^Dawful dread of the ^Emicy ^Cgrave that ^Dpains; So I ^Emwant you to swear that, ^Gfoul or ^Dfair, you'll c^Emremate my ^Dlast rem^Emains."

A ^Empal's last need is a ^Gthing to ^Dheed, so I ^Emswore I ^Cwould not ^Dfail; And we ^Emstarted on at the ^Gstreak of ^Ddawn; but ^EmGod! he ^Dlooked ghastly ^Empale. He ^Gcrouched on the sleigh, and he ^Draved all day of his ^Emhome in ^CTennes^Dsee; And befo^Emre nightfall a ^Gcorpse was ^Dall that was ^Emleft of ^DSam Mc^EmGee.

There ^Emwasn't a breath in that ^Gland of ^Ddeath, and I ^Emhurried, ^Chorror-^Ddriven, With a ^Emcorpse half hid that I ^Gcouldn't get ^Drid, beca^Emuse of a ^Dpromise ^Emgiven; It was ^Glashed to the sleigh, and it ^Dseemed to say: "You may ^Emtax your ^Cbrawn and ^Dbrains, But you ^Empromised true, and it's ^Gup to ^Dyou to crem^Emate those ^Dlast re^Emmains."

Now a ^Empromise made is a ^Gdebt unp^Daid, and the ^Emtrail has its ^Cown stern ^Dcode. In the ^Emdays to come, though my ^Glips were ^Ddumb, in my ^Emheart how I ^Dcursed that ^Emload. In the ^Glong, long night, by the ^Dlone firelight, while the ^Emhuskies, ^Cround in a ^Dring, Howled ^Emout their woes to the ^Ghomeless ^Dsnows -- O ^EmGod! how I ^Dloathed the ^Emthing.

And ^Emevery day that ^Gquiet ^Dclay seemed to ^Emheavy and ^Cheavier ^Dgrow; And on I ^Emwent, though the ^Gdogs were ^Dspent and the ^Emgrub was ^Dgetting ^Emlow; The ^Gtrail was bad, and I ^Dfelt half mad, but I ^Emswore I ^Cwould not give ^Din; And I'd ^Emoften sing to the ^Ghateful ^Dthing, and it ^Emhearkened ^Dwith a ^Emgrin.

Till I ^Emcame to the marge of ^GLake Le^Dbarge, and a ^Emderelict ^Cthere ^Dlay; It was ^Emjammed in the ice, but I ^Gsaw in a ^Dtrice it was ^Emcalled the "^DAlice ^EmMay". And I ^Glooked at it, and I ^Dthought a bit, and I ^Emlooked at my ^Cfrozen ^Dchum; Then ^Em"Here," said I, with a ^Gsudden ^Dcry, "is my ^Emcre-ma-^Dtor-e^Emum."

Some ^Emplanks I tore from the ^Gcabin ^Emfloor, and I ^Emlit the ^Cboiler ^Dfire; Some ^Emcoal I found that was ^Glying aro^Dund, and I ^Emheaped the ^Dfuel ^Emhigher; The ^Gflames just soared, and the ^Dfurnace roared -- such a ^Emblaze you ^Cseldom ^Dsee; And I ^Emburrowed a hole in the ^Gglowing ^Dcoal, and I ^Emstuffed in ^DSam Mc^EmGee.

Then I ^Emmade a hike, for I ^Gdidn't ^Dlike to ^Emhear him ^Csizzle ^Dso; And the ^Emheavens scowled, and the ^Ghuskies ^Dhowled, and the ^Emwind beg^Dan to ^Emblow. It was ^Gicy cold, but the ^Dhot sweat rolled down my ^Emcheeks, and I ^Cdon't know ^Emwhy; And the ^Emgreasy smoke in an ^Ginky ^Dcloak went ^Emstreaking ^Ddown the ^Emsky.

I ^Emdo not know how ^Glong in the ^Dsnow I ^Emwrestled with ^Cgrisly ^Dfear; But the ^Emstars came out and they ^Gdanced ab^Dout ere ^Emagain I ^Dventured ^Emnear; I was ^Gsick with dread, but I ^Dbravely said: "I'll just ^Emtake a ^Cpeep ins^Dide. I ^Emguess he's cooked, and it's ^Gtime I ^Dlooked"; . . . then the ^Emdoor I ^Dopened ^Emwide.

And ^Emthere sat Sam, looking ^Gcool and ^Dcalm, in the ^Emheart of the ^Cfurnace ^Droar; And he ^Emwore a smile you could ^Gsee a ^Dmile, and he ^Emsaid: "Please ^Dclose that ^Emdoor. It's ^Gfine in here, but I ^Dgreatly fear you'll ^Emlet in the ^Dcold and ^Emstorm -- Since I ^Emleft Plumtree, down in ^GTennes^Dsee, it's the ^Emfirst time ^DI've been ^Emwarm."