Canada-I-O


"Canada-I-O" is a traditional English folk ballad. It is believed to have been written before 1839.
When her love goes to sea, a lady dresses as a sailor and joins ship's crew. When she is discovered, 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. The plot, however, is too close for scholars to distinguish.

Broadsides