verse 1
G
Oh the snow falls soft round the old cabin door,
C G
The baby lies sleeping so still;
C G Em
And she imagines she hears the faint ring of an axe
A D
‘Way back in the Pontiac hills.
G
Well, the days grind by just like a log in a jam,
C G
In the window the candle burns low;
C G Em
It’s been weeks since he left to head north to the camps-
G D G
There’ll be months before spring brings him home.
Chorus
C G
And in the shanty they’re dancin’ on a hard-packed dirt floor
C D
While the fiddler scrapes out them old tunes one time more;
C G Em
And he’s wond-rin’ why he’s there far from fam’ly and friends
G D C
In a logging camp Christmas again.
G D
And wasn’t it this time last year that he swore
C G D
That he wouldn’t spend Christmas in the log camps no more?
G C G
But there’s too little choice when the livin’s this poor;
D G
It’s the only way a man can survive.
verse 2
G
Well, the wood’s gettin’ low by the fire tonight
C G
And she’ll up before dawn to cut more
C G Em
But it seems only right to let it burn bright
A D
‘cause it’s Christmas and her heart’s feelin’ sore.
G
Well, it isn’t the work that she minds when he’s gone
C G
And the neighbours help out when they can,
C G Em
It’s the time slipping by from life that’s too young
G D G
To be living this far from her man.
Chorus
C G
In the shanty they’re dancin’ on a hard-packed dirt floor
C D
While the fiddler scrapes out them old tunes one time more;
C G Em
And he’s wond-rin’ why he’s there far from fam’ly and friends
G D C
In a logging camp Christmas again.
G D
And wasn’t it this time last year that he swore
C G D
That he wouldn’t spend Christmas in the log camps no more?
G C G
But there’s too little choice when the livin’s this poor;
D G
It’s the only way a man can survive.
Instrument Break
C G C D C G Em G D C
Chorus
C G
In the shanty they’re dancin’ on a hard-packed dirt floor
C D
While the fiddler scrapes out them old tunes one time more;
C G Em
And he’s wond-rin’ why he’s there far from fam’ly and friends
G D C
In a logging camp Christmas again.
G D
And wasn’t it this time last year that he swore
C G D
That he wouldn’t spend Christmas in the log camps no more?
G C G
But there’s too little choice when the livin’s this poor;
D G
It’s the only way a man can survive.
Outro
G
Oh the snow falls soft round the old cabin door,
C G
The baby lies sleeping so still;
C G Em
And she imagines she hears the faint ring of an axe
A D
‘Way back in the Pontiac hills.