SONGS OF MIRAMICHI.

By LouiseManny and James Reginald Wilson '45.Fredericton (New Brunswick): BrunswickPress, 1968. 333 pp. With maps and illustrations. Paperback. $7.50.

Two hundred and fifty miles of Miramichi River plus its many branches and tributaries, covering all of the Northumberland County of North East New Brunswick have inspired the Songs of Miramichi. By way of these songs we meet the culture of the Miramichi loggers. Each song is a record of that tradition, an expression of experience from the very personal to the universal. Most were passed down by oral tradition, neither music nor texts having been recorded before. Here we experience the oral transmission of the Miramichi Folk Tradition.

This book consists of: 1) an explanation of collecting methods. 2) an account of recording difficulties. 3) an analysis of melody and rhythms. 4) a detailed historical view of Miramichi and its people. 5) the texts.

The 101 songs are divided into the following categories: Songs Indigenous to Miramichi, Child Ballads, and Songs of Other Areas Traditionally Sung in Miramichi. Fully to enjoy them, a knowledge of Miramichi history is helpful. Thus the authors' notes are very germane. The text, rather than melody or rhythm, sets off each song. "It must be kept in mind that Miramichi auditors hang on every word, not every note. The tune is a vehicle for achieving continuity." "I did not hear many songs sung at home; they were always recited." If sung, the songs are sung by one person alone, with no accompaniment.

Popular themes may include startling historical events, like the Miramichi Fire, but more commonly individual fates: true loves, bitter partings, betrayals, tragic murders. Many episodes are dramatic and disastrous; many, commonplace and light, such as"... the 8 pound Bass I longed for never came.

Completing the collection are numerous songs by Larry Gorman, whose witty satires of Miramichi life are popular among loggers.

With superb photography through the book, these songs may inspire readers to attend the Annual Folk Song Festival in New Castle next August.

The songs are part of their way of life.Our singers believe in these songs whichhave become an extension of their personalities. And so we have been able torecord and research a living part of agreat tradition.

Mrs. Alverson is the wife of Hoyt S. Alverson, Assistant Professor of Anthropology,Dartmouth College.