The Ballad of Jan Iris

The Ballad of Jan Iris

by Darryl Cherney (Em)

Now there's many kind of loggers in these (D) north coast woods
Some die (C) old (D), some die (Em) young
But there once lived a faller who (D) worked for the trees
And his (C) tale (D) will carry (Em) on His (Am) name was Jan (Em) Iris
And he (C) mourned the mighty clearcuts men had (G) made (D)
So after (Em) coming home from the (D) bloody Vietnam War
He (C) knew a (D) debt must be re-(Em)paid (repeat)

Now there's many kind of loggers come to Briceland town
Some have gone, some remain
But big Jan Iris he'd come to settle down
And heal the forest from its pain He'd seen the underbrush a-catchin' fire
And he'd seen the young trees reaching for the sun
So he fired up his chainsaw, he fired up a kiln
He'd found a job that must be done (repeat)

Now there's many loggin' outfits in these north coast woods
Some take half, most take all
But Wild Iris Forestry took one out of ten
Then limbed the rest up to grow tall You hardly knew that they'd been in there loggin'
And the fire breaks were a blessing to us all
Then 'twas off the kiln for a hardwood floor
Or a cabinet for the kitchen wall (repeat)

Now there's many kinds of changes hit these north coast towns
Some come easy, some come hard
But those big loggin' comp'nies with their big machines
Left us closed down mills and empty yards But with a portable sawmill and a pick-up
Jan Iris showed us how we can make do
On just fifty acres ten folks could work all year
We could have our jobs and forest, too (repeat)

Now there's many kinds of lessons in this great wide world
Some learned fast, some take time
But those poisons of war that he'd worked with long before
Struck Jan with a cancer in his prime And so they found a school to teach his wisdom
And in 1991 Jan Iris died
And though we all knew there was so much work to do
That day all Briceland stopped and cried (repeat)

White Tribal Music

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