Old John Prince

Old John Prince is on the run
He don't even know what from
Old John Prince your time has come
Won't you lay your burden down
Won't you lay your burden down
Under the ground, of this town

In 1796 I'm told
There's a day on which John Prince was born
He was Richard and Mary's first son
And he was angry even then
And he was angry even then
Educated by an Anglican clergyman
Old John Prince was a smart one
Until 1833 he lived in England
As a lawyer and a politician
As a lawyer and a politician

When his daddy was caught with a very red hand
Making bootleg beer, John couldn't stand
To see his good name eaten raw
So he packed his bags for Canada
He packed his bags for Canada
Old John Prince was 37
When he left his home in Britain
He set sail for the colony
To set himself free, to set himself free

Old John Prince is on the run
He don't even know what from
Old John Prince your time has come
Won't you lay your burden down
Won't you lay your burden down
Under the ground, of this town

Trouble in 1837
Upper Canada had a big rebellion
Prince led the boys from Sandwich town
They captured five rebels then they shot 'em down
They captured five rebels then they shot 'em down
A man named Wood said he was out of line
So one Monday in 1839
Prince demanded a duel at dawn
And he shot Wood in the jaw for the wrong
He shot Wood in the jaw for the wrong

Sailing in 1853
John arrived at Sault Ste. Marie
He wrote in a note that he didn't erase
It's a horrid, wild, inhospitable place
It's a horrid, wild, inhospitable place
Things were no better in his heart
As the last of his marriage fell apart
He volunteered to go and fight in India
Anything to get away from this Canada
Anything to get away from this Canada

Old John Prince is on the run
He don't even know what from
Old John Prince your time has come
Won't you lay your burden down
Won't you lay your burden down
Under the ground, of this town

On July the 7th, 1860
John became the judge of the horrid city
They said he'd love Algoma District
But John Prince knew he'd been tricked
Old John knew he'd been tricked
He came up here to hunt big game
But he couldn't find one deer to claim
And then his wife said she would not come
To his new god forsaken home
To his new god forsaken home

Old John Prince got his thumb caught
In his horse's reins 'till it broke right off
He finished the job with his own pen knife
He was as tough as his hard life
He was as tough as his hard life
Just before he died he said, "Take my bones
And bury me right across from home
This cursed soil will be my last escape
From the human race whom I hate
From the human race whom I hate

Old John Prince is on the run
He don't even know what from
Old John Prince your time has come
Won't you lay your burden down
Won't you lay your burden down
Under the ground, of this town