The Night They Moved the House

The word had spread from door to door Down the barachois road to the harbour shore Old Joe Labelle would steal the house from the widow Victoria He'd found some deed that claimed her land And a handshake deal just wouldn't stand In a court of law he did demand that the house belonged to him Ring the church bells in the night We'll gather at the first starlight Bring your lamps, sleighs and mare to save the Widow's home Across the big field, o'er the pond We'll move this house before the dawn When Joe Labelle arrives he'll find his prize already gone It seems that some mistake was made On the day her husband made a trade And when he died he was betrayed by Joe Labelle's black heart He planned to force her to the cold And he'd bring the Sheriff and his fold So through the dead of Winter's hold we'd come to save her home Ring the church bells in the night We'll gather at the first starlight Bring your lamps, sleighs and mare to save the Widow's home Across the big field, o'er the pond We'll move this house before the dawn When Joe Labelle arrives he'll find his prize already gone You could see his breath freeze in the air As Perè Felix said the Lord's Prayer And passed the wine to all hands there Then he sang a sailor's song There must have been near forty men While their wives all held their lamps for them They fashioned logs, levers and skids while shivering to the bone With winches, logs and Dino's sleigh They slowly hauled the house away And the ice cracked like the break of day as across it she was drawn We rang the church bells in the night We worked until the morning light Brought our lamps, sleighs and mare to save the Widow's home Across the big field, o'er the pond We moved this house before the dawn Joe Labelle arrived and found his prize already gone We rang the church bells in the night We worked until the morning light Brought out lamps, sleighs and mare to save the Widow's home Across the big field, o'er the pond We moved this house before the dawn Joe Labelle arrived and found his prize already gone