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The POEMS
When Tom was invited to do recitations at Robert Service's cabin he decided that if he was going to do it, he was going to do it properly. No mere reading of the poems - he made it his mission to create a show that would showcase Robert Service's poetry and give the history of the man that would capture the imagination of millions over half a century earlier.
Rain or shine Tom's voice could be heard up on 8th Avenue reciting the favorites such as The Spell of The Yukon, The Cremation of Sam McGee and The Shooting of Dan McGrew.
His show brought new life to the poetry. There were actually people in Dawson who did not know of Robert Service or the Cabin. Tom's recitations helped make Robert Service a household name. Many people knew of Sam McGee but did not know who the author was or his other works.
Robert Service's family has given praise for Tom's show. Father Bob from Dawson City used to go to France frequently and was a great friend of Robert Service's wife. He kept her informed of what Tom was doing and she was really pleased. She told Father Bob that Robert always worried about being forgotten when he died. Robert Service's daughter wrote to Tom to thank him for keeping her father's poetry alive. And after 31 years people still love the show and Service's works are more popular than ever.
Although we'd love to have you experience Tom Byrne's shows in person, exciting dramatizations of Robert Service's poems and Tom's Stories are available on CDs, DVD's and as audio files to download.
These recordings create captivating renditions, complete with music, howling wolves and whistling winds. Enjoy!
The Cremation of Sam McGee -
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold. And the arctic lights have seen queer sights that will make your blood run cold...
The Shooting of Dangerous Dan McGrew -
A bunch of the boys were whopping it up at the Malamute Saloon. And the was playing a rag time tune...
The Spell of the Yukon -
I wanted the gold, and I sought it; I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
Was it famine or scurvy, I fought it;
I hurled my youth into a grave..
The Quitter -
When you're lost in the Wild, and you're scared as a child,
And Death looks you bang in the eye,
And you're sore as a boil, it's according to Hoyle
To cock your revolver and . . . die...
Good-bye Little Cabin -
O dear little cabin, I've loved you so long,
And now I must bid you good-bye
I've filled you with laughter, I've thrilled you with song
And sometimes I've wished I could cry.
My Madonna -
I haled me a woman from the street,
Shameless, but, oh, so fair!
I bade her sit in the model's seat
And I painted her sitting there.
The men that don't fit in -
There's a race of men that don't fit in,
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
Bessie's Boil
Says I to my Missis: "Ba goom, lass! you've something I see, on your mind."
Says she: "You are right, Sam, I've something. It 'appens it's on me be'ind.
A Boil as 'ud make Job jealous. It 'urts me no end when I sit."
Rain or shine Tom's voice could be heard up on 8th Avenue reciting the favorites such as The Spell of The Yukon, The Cremation of Sam McGee and The Shooting of Dan McGrew.
His show brought new life to the poetry. There were actually people in Dawson who did not know of Robert Service or the Cabin. Tom's recitations helped make Robert Service a household name. Many people knew of Sam McGee but did not know who the author was or his other works.
Robert Service's family has given praise for Tom's show. Father Bob from Dawson City used to go to France frequently and was a great friend of Robert Service's wife. He kept her informed of what Tom was doing and she was really pleased. She told Father Bob that Robert always worried about being forgotten when he died. Robert Service's daughter wrote to Tom to thank him for keeping her father's poetry alive. And after 31 years people still love the show and Service's works are more popular than ever.
Although we'd love to have you experience Tom Byrne's shows in person, exciting dramatizations of Robert Service's poems and Tom's Stories are available on CDs, DVD's and as audio files to download.
These recordings create captivating renditions, complete with music, howling wolves and whistling winds. Enjoy!
The Cremation of Sam McGee -
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold. And the arctic lights have seen queer sights that will make your blood run cold...
The Shooting of Dangerous Dan McGrew -
A bunch of the boys were whopping it up at the Malamute Saloon. And the was playing a rag time tune...
The Spell of the Yukon -
I wanted the gold, and I sought it; I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
Was it famine or scurvy, I fought it;
I hurled my youth into a grave..
The Quitter -
When you're lost in the Wild, and you're scared as a child,
And Death looks you bang in the eye,
And you're sore as a boil, it's according to Hoyle
To cock your revolver and . . . die...
Good-bye Little Cabin -
O dear little cabin, I've loved you so long,
And now I must bid you good-bye
I've filled you with laughter, I've thrilled you with song
And sometimes I've wished I could cry.
My Madonna -
I haled me a woman from the street,
Shameless, but, oh, so fair!
I bade her sit in the model's seat
And I painted her sitting there.
The men that don't fit in -
There's a race of men that don't fit in,
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
Bessie's Boil
Says I to my Missis: "Ba goom, lass! you've something I see, on your mind."
Says she: "You are right, Sam, I've something. It 'appens it's on me be'ind.
A Boil as 'ud make Job jealous. It 'urts me no end when I sit."
Copyright 2010 Tales of the Far North: Cremation of Sam McGee. All Rights Reserved.
Cremation of Sam McGee, Spell of the Yukon and Many More
