Canada-I-O

Canada-I-O

"O-Canada" (also known as "The Wearing of the Blue" and "Caledonia") is a traditional Canadian and English folk ballad. It is believed to have been written before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(1982))

When her love goes to sea, a lady dresses as a sailor and joins (his or another's) ship's crew. When she is discovered, (the crew/her lover) determine to drown her. The captain saves her and they marry.

Based on similarity of title, some connect this song with "Canaday-I-O, Michigan-I-O, Colley's Run I-O". There is no connection in plot, however, and any common lyrics are probably the result of cross-fertilization.

The Scottish song Caledonia/Pretty Caledonia is quite different in detail — so much so that it is separate from the "Canada-I-O" texts in the Roud Folk Song Index ("Canaday-I-O" is #309; "Caledonia" is #5543). The plot, however, is too close for scholars to distinguish.