This being the Harvest issue of our magazine, I thought I’d tell you about a small discovery we made on one of our Canadian visits.

If you know of my ‘folkie’ interests you won’t be surprised to learn that we spent a little time trawling through the so-called music shops, looking for a collection or two of early Canadian songs and tunes. As you may well imagine, Country & Western was about the best they could come up with – which, generally is neither ‘country’ nor ‘western’! It wasn’t until we visited the Museum of Mennonite Life at St Jacob’s that we came across a selection of the material for which we had been searching.

 A track on the CD ‘Grassroots Music of Early Toronto’ bears the title ‘Man Behind the Plow’ (sic). Judging by the words, and particularly by the tune, it sounds – to me - more like a Victorian parlour or music hall song than a traditional song taken there by early settlers – but it’s none the worse for that.

In this day and age, when the vast majority of the population is far, far divorced from fields of crops, farm animals and agricultural processes, it’s as well to remind ourselves of the words:-

But if you pay attention, there is something I must say

About a great mistake you make, and make it every day.

In dealing out your praises, and I mean to tell you now –

Too often you forget the man that walks behind the plow.

That’s the latter part of the first verse and the chorus simple reinforces the idea with:-

You talk about your learned men, your wit and wisdom rare;

Your poets and your painters they get praises everywhere.

They’re well enough to make a show, but will you tell me how

The world will ever do without the man behind the plow?

DEFRA’s often shameful behaviour during the foot and mouth crisis, current changes in the Common Agricultural Policy, the avalanche of E.U. directives and regulations, and new methods of paying grants and subsidies – often sent out months late – should all serve to bring us up short and make us think carefully about our food supply.

Your music and your poetry may all be hard to beat –

But tell me what you’re going to do for something you can eat?

Parlour or music hall song it may well be, but the true sentiment is still there:-

You say my boots are muddy and my clothing it is coarse;

I make a good companion for the oxen and the horse.

My face is red, my hands are hard – it’s true I must allow –

But don’t you be too quick to spurn the man behind the plow.

To round it off, the final line of the final verse goes:-

The greatest of the great men is the man behind the plow.

Happy Harvest-time everyone!

Also, have a look on the internet at

To listen to ‘The man behind the Plow’ go to the internet at www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/m5/f7/csm3591.mp3

NOTE - the words are a bit different  than shown at www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=27089#57414

Also have a look at the internet version of the magazine to find more information about the Mennonites and St. Jacobs.

www.mennoniteusa.org/

www.stjacobs.com/

www.sjmc.on.ca/