 This song chronicles the event known as the Expulsion of the Acadians, which began in 1755 when British soldiers removed more than six-thousand French settlers from their homes in what is now Nova Scotia. The Maritime Provinces of Canada (Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and New Brunswick) had been hotly contested by the French and British throughout the 1600s and 1700s because of their strategic location. The British removed the French-speaking Acadians when war with France became imminent. They moved the French people to other British colonies along the Atlantic coast, where they were not always welcome. Some eventually returned to Canada, while others made their way to Louisiana, where their descendants became known as Cajuns.
Engraving of the Expulsion of the Acadians.
This song does not exist as a broadside but was handed down orally until it was eventually published. Although the text of the verses is clearly fictional, the refrain reiterates the question foremost in the minds of the Acadians, who perhaps felt that they were forced to drift for seven years, while in reality it may have been less. A question for speculation is whether the boy actually sees land in the last three verses or whether he is prevaricating in an attempt to save himself. In either case, the reference to sheep and shepherdesses at this point may be viewed as symbolic; as the Acadians were devout Roman Catholics, the song draws on the Biblical metaphor of people as sheep shepherded by Christ.
The English translation contains additional verses not performed in the French version and extends verse 4 of the French lyrics to two verses. |
