Written by Fred Gee with Mr. Reyngoudt’s 1991/92 Grade 5 Class
Grandview School, Catskill, NY
Come listen all to the story of a mighty lumberjack
He stood for 6’6 with a big black beard and the shantyboys called him “Mac”
He’d chop a tree with the greatest of ease with just four monstrous whacks
You’ve never seen a woodsman who was so good with his axe.
CHORUS:
Mac, Mac the lumberjack
Chop, chop just watch him go
Mac, Mac the lumberjack
From North Ontario
Mac’s family was rather large as you can surely see
He had a wife and 31 kids and a dog named Mandy Lee
And their cabin stood six stories high near a place they called Lake Clear
He felt quite bad ‘cause he only saw his family twice each year.
CHORUS
It was a cold December morn at 88 below
When poor old Mac got out of bed he couldn’t feel his toes
So he pulled on half a dozen socks and he dressed himself up fine
Went out with the shantyboys to cut down lots of pine.
CHORUS
It was so cold the shantyboys returned to the campfire soon
But they realized Mac wasn’t there when they ate their lunch at noon
Later when they found him he was quite a sight to see
He was frozen stiff with the axe in his hands still chopping down a tree.
CHORUS
Throughout the woods the news spread fast that Mac had met his end
Soon his stiffened corpse was mourned by family and friends
It really was a terrible shame that poor Mac had to die
A ton of ice cubes formed that night as everybody cried
CHORUS
Mac’s funeral was held next day beside a stand of birch
It seemed a fitting tribute since he’d never been to church
They plunked him in a snow drift since the ground was frozen hard
It’s said they hear him chopping still each night beneath the stars.
