When the Ice Worms Nest Again

When the Ice Worms Nest Again
	Folk ballad
Genre	Folk
Published	1939

"When the Ice Worms Nest Again" is a humorous Canadian folk ballad.

History

The song originated in northern British Columbia and the Yukon, possibly during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898.[1] It was first published in the Yellowknife Prospector in 1939, which claimed that the song was written in 1919 by four men working in the Yukon.[2] Scottish-Canadian poet Robert W. Service also published a ballad with this name in Twenty Bath-Tub Ballads, 1939, claiming that he had written the song in 1911;[2] however, Service's ballad is significantly different from the traditional lyrics.[3] There are many other versions that exist.[1]

It has become the theme song for silver miners in Cobalt, Ontario and fur trappers in The Pas, Manitoba.[1]

Theme

The song describes a romance between the narrator and a "husky dusky maiden" in the Canadian Arctic.[1]

The "ice worms" referenced are not actual ice worms (genus Mesenchytraeus), which the original authors probably would not have known existed. Instead, it refers to "ice worm cocktails", the practice of drawing eyes on pieces of spaghetti and putting it into a cocktail to frighten travellers. This practice was described by, and may have even originated with, Robert Service's poem "The Ballad of the Ice-worm Cocktail".[4][2]

Recordings

Wilf Carter, "When the Ice Worms Nest Again" (c. 1950)[1][2]
Alan Mills, "When the Ice Worms Nest Again" (1960)[1][5]
Loewen Orchestra, "When the Iceworms Nest Again" (1969)[2]
Folk Songs of Canada, CS3 (Waterloo)[1]
The Holy Modal Rounders, "When the Iceworms Nest Again", from the album Going Nowhere Fast (1981)
Sharon, Lois & Bram, "When the Iceworms Nest Again", from the album Sing A to Z, 1990.

gollark: COVID-19 was created by sapient bats attempting to manipulate mankind into becoming their slaves.

gollark: COVID-19 was created by inner city real estate companies to accelerate working from home trends enough that people would begin to resent them and their future profits would be secured.

gollark: COVID-19 was created by UV lamp companies to sell more UV lamps.

gollark: COVID-19 was created by an evil faction of emerging disease epidemiologists angry about not getting enough funding.

gollark: COVID-19 was created to buy time for cryptographers to be able to factor 2020 to determine whether it was a leap year; factoring large integers is nontrivial and they were unable to secure computing power for it due to increasing costs, so a distraction was necessary.

References

"When the Ice Worms Nest Again". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
Waltz, Robert B. "When the Ice Worms Nest Again". The Traditional Ballad Index Version 3.8. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
Fowke, Edith; Johnston, Richard (1954). Folk Songs of Canada. Waterloo Music Company. pp. 186-88.
Service, Robert W. (1940). "The Ballad of the Ice-Worm Cocktail". Bar-Room Ballads. Toronto: Reginald Saunders.
"When the Ice Worms Nest Again". Smithsonian Folkways. Retrieved 15 March 2016.

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[tce-1] "When the Ice Worms Nest Again". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 March 2016.

[tbi-2] Waltz, Robert B. "When the Ice Worms Nest Again". The Traditional Ballad Index Version 3.8. Retrieved 15 March 2016.

[fowke-3] Fowke, Edith; Johnston, Richard (1954). Folk Songs of Canada. Waterloo Music Company. pp. 186-88.

[4] Service, Robert W. (1940). "The Ballad of the Ice-Worm Cocktail". Bar-Room Ballads. Toronto: Reginald Saunders.

[5] "When the Ice Worms Nest Again". Smithsonian Folkways. Retrieved 15 March 2016.