I'm looking for the full text to a song whose lyrics include the
following: "The cook, she's nam' was Rosie/She cam' from Mo'real/And
was chambermaid on a lumber barge/In the Grand Lachine Canal." Also
would like to know year it was written and/or published, name of
songwriter if possible, and name of earliest performers.

The original version of "The Wreck of the Julie Plante" was written by
Dr. W.H. Drummond, a noted writer of French-Canadian dialect poems. It
was published in 1909 by Frederick Neal, who modified Drummond's poem.

The Wreck Of the Julie Plante

Twas one dark night on Lac St. Clair,
De wind was "blow", "blow", "blow",
When de crew on de wood skow "Julie Plante"
Got scare and run below.

For de wind she blow like hurricane,
Bine she blow some more
When de skow buss up just off Grosse Pointe
Ten acres from the shore.

The captain she's walk on the front deck,
She's walk on the hind deck, too,
She's call the crew from up the hole,
She's call the cook also.

De cook her name was Rosa
She come from Montreal,
Was a chambermaid on a lumber barge
On dat big Lachine Canal.  

De wind he's blow from Nor' eass' wess'
De sou' wind he's blow too,
When Rosa say, "Oh, Captain,
Whatever shall I do."

De captain she's throw the hank,
But still that skow she drif,
And de crew he can't pass on dat shore
Because he loose dat skiff.  

De night was dark like one black cat
De wave ran high and fass
When the Captain took poor Rosa
And lash her to the mass.

When the Captain put on de life preserve
And he jump into the lac,
And he say, "Good-by, may Rosa dear.
I go down for your sak.  

Next morning vary hearly,
About half-past two, three, four,
De Captain, cook and wood skow
Lay corpses on dat shore.

Moral:

Now all good wood skow sailor mans,
Take lesson and marry nice French gal
And live on Grosse Pointe fame.  

Den the wind may blow like hurricane
And spose she's blow some more,
You're can't get drowned on Lac St. Clair
So long to stop on shore.

Lakeshore Ontario: Township of Maidstone
http://www.lakeshoreontario.com/history/maidstone/lakeshipping.htm

According to the library of the University of Toronto, the original
text by William Henry Drummond appeared in "The Habitant and other
French-Canadian Poems (New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons,
1897). The library also provides some notes on the meaning of the
dialect, links to other works by Drummond, and further information
about him.

University of Toronto Library
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/poems/drumwh1c.html

Here you will find another version of the poem:

Wayward Navigator Bed and Breakfast
http://www.wayward.com/barge.htm

I found an interesting article about the search for this song's
history. An excerpt:

"John found a book called 'Folk Songs of Canada' Choral Edition by
Edith Fowke with a lovely tune and this explanation: 'French-Canadian
shanty boys found a tune to fit it and carried it to many widely
scattered lumber camps.' I learned that it has been recorded many
times, including an arrangement done by the late Nelson Eddy on his
radio show."

Press Republican Online: Gordie Little Small Talk
http://www.pressrepublican.com/Archive/2002/03_2002/03172002gl.htm

Here you can listen to a 1923 recording of "The Weck of the Julie
Plante" by James (Jimmy) Rice:

National Library of Canada: The Virtual Gramophone
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/obj/m2/f7/11412.mp3

A more modern recording, with the familiar folk-ballad melody, by
Mustard's Retreat, is available here:

http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=product&id=1921164602

The Rice recording is the earliest performance I could find. Sheet
music from 1920 is listed in the collection of the University of
Wisconsin at Milwaukee. They list the composer as Geoffrey O'Hara.
Lyrics are credited to W.H. Drummond.

University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee: Sheet Music Collection
http://www.uwm.edu/Library/Music/Sheet/ttoz.html

My Google search strategy:

"chambermaid on a lumber barge"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22chambermaid+on+a+lumber+barge

"julie plante"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22julie+plante

"wreck of the julie plante"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22wreck+of+the+julie+plante

I hope this information is useful. If anything is unclear, or if any
of the links do not function, I will gladly provide further assistance
if you request clarification before rating my answer.

Best wishes,
pinkfreud

---

Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 31 Oct 2002 09:36 PST

Thank you *very* much for the five-star rating and the nice tip.
Halloween is off to a great start for me: all treats and no tricks!
;-)

~pinkfreud

That was far more information than I'd imagined possible. Thanks!