William Henry Paddle

William Henry Paddle - would you care to dance?
It probably wouldn’t kill you, would you like another chance?
Times have changed a little & it’s not so grave a sin
So if it be your pleasure, feel free to jump right in

The Reverand Buchanon was twenty-one years old
In the service of the church, he did as he was told
This was back when Newfoundland was barely just a rock
He was sent to bring the heathens back into the flock

The Reverand Buchanon heard a knocking at the door
William Henry Paddle’s mother stood there lily-white and pure
She was visibly shaken, there was panic in her words
“The devil’s down the road, come quick, before someone gets hurt”

William Henry Paddle’s mother found out her son had gone
To a very wicked party where there was music going on
There was laughter, there was singing, there was dancing there as well
William Henry Paddle’s mother was afraid he’d go to hell

The Reverand grabbed his Bible and his other tools of battle
Put his collar & his hat on and then hopped into the saddle
William Henry Paddle’s mother left the Reverand eating dust
And when she burst into the cabin William Henry Paddle cussed

William Henry Paddle’s mother, she did not leave a trace
Of the smile that had been on William Henry Paddle’s face
And when he saw the Reverand William bowed his head in shame
Afraid there might forever be a mark beside his name

The scolding that the Reverand gave was all brimstone and fire
Unmarried dancing partners lost all of their desire
The fiddles all got packed away, the girls put up their hair
And all the partygoers joined the Reverand in prayer

On a street in Montreal, some 40 odd years later
In William Henry Paddle’s life, there was no moment greater
He bumped into the Reverand and introduced him to his wife
And thanked him for that evening when the Reverand saved his life

The Reverand’s diary fell into his great-granddaughter’s hands
She read about this fellow who was not allowed to dance
So to find out if his bones might now be finally free to rattle
She did a jig around the grave of William Henry Paddle

Singing “William Henry Paddle - would you care to dance?
It probably wouldn’t kill you, would you like another chance?
Times have changed a little & it’s not so grave a sin
So if it be your pleasure, feel free to jump right in”