{title: Donkey Riding}
{artist: Traditional (Atlantic Canada / Scottish)}
{album: 19th-century timber-trade work song; sung in the Quebec and New Brunswick timber ports and by Scottish ships' crews}
{key: D}
{tempo: 130}
{difficulty: beginner}
{phase: 1}
{strand: M}
{feel: stomp}
{lead_voice: any}
{lead_mode: call_response}
{lead_demand: easy}
{harmony: M,H}
{a_cappella: no}
{kit: gtr,bod}
{set_role: opener}
{lang: en}
{country_tags: CA}
{copyright: pd}
{tags: canadiana,capstan,chorus,halyard,public-domain,shanty,singalong,traditional}

{c: A bouncy capstan/halyard hybrid — sometimes pulled, sometimes walked. The "donkey" is the steam donkey-engine that powered loading gear in late-19th-century timber ports, especially Quebec City. Strong Atlantic-Canadian roots, also widely sung in Scotland and northern England.}
{c: Three chords (D, G, A). Lyrics in print since the late 1800s. Public domain.}
{c: Strum: capstan-style boom-chuck, hit the bass note hard. Tempo 120-140 BPM.}

{start_of_chorus}
[D]Way hey and a[G]way we go, [D]donkey riding, [A]donkey riding
[D]Way hey and a[G]way we go, [A]riding on a [D]donkey
{end_of_chorus}

{start_of_verse}
[D]Were you ever in Que[G]bec
[D]Stowing timber [A]on the deck
[D]Where there's a king [G]with a golden crown
[A]Riding on a [D]donkey?
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_chorus}
[D]Way hey and a[G]way we go, [D]donkey riding, [A]donkey riding
[D]Way hey and a[G]way we go, [A]riding on a [D]donkey
{end_of_chorus}

{start_of_verse}
[D]Were you ever off the [G]Horn
[D]Where it's always [A]fine and warm
[D]And see the lion and the [G]unicorn
[A]Riding on a [D]donkey?
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_chorus}
[D]Way hey and a[G]way we go, [D]donkey riding, [A]donkey riding
[D]Way hey and a[G]way we go, [A]riding on a [D]donkey
{end_of_chorus}

{start_of_verse}
[D]Were you ever in Cardiff [G]Bay
[D]Where the folks all [A]shout hooray
[D]Here comes Jack with his [G]three months' pay
[A]Riding on a [D]donkey
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_chorus}
[D]Way hey and a[G]way we go, [D]donkey riding, [A]donkey riding
[D]Way hey and a[G]way we go, [A]riding on a [D]donkey
{end_of_chorus}

{start_of_verse}
[D]Were you ever in Mira[G]michi
[D]Where they tie up [A]ships to a tree
[D]And the women paddle [G]a canoe
[A]Riding on a [D]donkey?
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_chorus}
[D]Way hey and a[G]way we go, [D]donkey riding, [A]donkey riding
[D]Way hey and a[G]way we go, [A]riding on a [D]donkey
{end_of_chorus}

{c: Floating-verse song — mix and match verses, make up new ones with local place names. Mayne Island, Active Pass, Saturna — all fair game.}
{c: Reference recordings: The Longest Johns; Great Big Sea; Stan Hugill's collection. The Atlantic Canadian variants (Miramichi, Quebec) are the ones to lean into for crew identity.}