{title: Land of the Silver Birch}
{artist: Traditional (Canadian)}
{key: Em}
{tempo: 100}
{difficulty: beginner}
{tags: kids,traditional,canadiana,two-chord,public-domain}
{video: youtube:JqAEo2sSWdo}
{credit: 'Land of the Silver Birch' (Caitie's Classroom). Traditional Canadian camp song from the 1920s (PD composition).}

{c: THE Canadian summer-camp song. Two chords (Em and D, or Am and Em — whichever feels right). Sung with the rhythm of paddle strokes.}
{c: Traditionally paired with "My Paddle's Keen and Bright" as a round.}
{c: Public domain.}

{start_of_verse}
[Em]Land of the silver birch, [D]home of the beaver
[Em]Where still the mighty moose [D]wanders at will
[Em]Blue lake and rocky shore
[Am]I will return once [Em]more
[Em]Boom-de-de boom boom, [D]boom-de-de boom boom
[Em]Boom-de-de boom boom, [D]bo[Em]om
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_verse}
[Em]Down in the forest deep, [D]there roams the moose
[Em]There he, the wild deer, [D]wanders at will
[Em]Blue lake and rocky shore
[Am]I will return once [Em]more
[Em]Boom-de-de boom boom, [D]boom-de-de boom boom
[Em]Boom-de-de boom boom, [D]bo[Em]om
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_verse}
[Em]My heart grows sick for thee, [D]here in the lowlands
[Em]I will return to thee, [D]hills of the north
[Em]Blue lake and rocky shore
[Am]I will return once [Em]more
[Em]Boom-de-de boom boom, [D]boom-de-de boom boom
[Em]Boom-de-de boom boom, [D]bo[Em]om
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_verse}
[Em]High on a rocky ledge, [D]I'll build my wigwam
[Em]Close to the water's edge, [D]silent and still
[Em]Blue lake and rocky shore
[Am]I will return once [Em]more
[Em]Boom-de-de boom boom, [D]boom-de-de boom boom
[Em]Boom-de-de boom boom, [D]bo[Em]om
{end_of_verse}

{c: ===== HOW TO PLAY IT =====}
{c: Two main chords (Em and D) plus one Am at "I will return." If you know Em and D, you know this song.}
{c: Strum: paddle rhythm — DOWN-down-DOWN-down. Like a canoe stroke.}
{c: Tempo: paddling pace, not racing.}

{c: ===== THE BOOM-DE-DE-BOOM =====}
{c: The "boom-de-de-boom" is sung percussively, like drumbeats. Some camps stomp or hand-drum on it.}
{c: For your 7yo: this is the part they'll memorise first. Get them stomping or playing bodhrán on these lines.}

{c: ===== AS A ROUND WITH "MY PADDLE'S KEEN AND BRIGHT" =====}
{c: These two songs were traditionally paired — one group sings "Land of the Silver Birch" while another sings "My Paddle's Keen and Bright" simultaneously. They harmonise because they share chord structure (both Em-based).}

{c: My Paddle's Keen and Bright (companion piece, public domain):}
{c: "My paddle's keen and bright / Flashing with silver / Follow the wild goose flight / Dip, dip, and swing"}
{c: "Dip, dip, and swing her back / Flashing with silver / Swift as the wild goose flies / Dip, dip, and swing"}

{c: ===== A NOTE ON THE LYRICS =====}
{c: The "wigwam" line in older versions is borrowed from Indigenous culture without permission. Some camps now sing "Close to the water's edge" or "I'll build my dwelling there" instead. You decide what's right for your family.}

{c: ===== WHY THIS SONG =====}
{c: It's the song you sing in the canoe, at the campfire, looking at a Canadian lake, when you want a kid to feel rooted in this place. From any province. Two chords. Ten minutes to learn. Hundreds of years to forget.}