(Sung to the tune of “Philadelphia Lawyer”)
(The audio version is here for your listening pleasure.)
Way up at ole Barter Island,
Where the winters are dark and cold,
I came in search of my fortune,
In this great land of gold.
Well, I got me a job on the DEWLine,
And I thought my fortune was made,
Till I took R&R in the city,
And you should have seen my bank roll fade.
I met a girl in Fairbanks,
And we went out on the town,
I hired a cab by the hour,
That sure pulled my pocket book down.
Well, I thought that the cab was expensive,
So I took that girl to a bar,
She could drink more booze in an hour,
Than me in a month or more.
So I bought us a bottle of bourbon,
And I took her to my room,
That gal and a bottle of bourbon,
They proved to be my doom.
So men let me give you a warning,
If you think this is the life.
If you plan to come to Alaska,
Make sure you bring your own wife.
As remembered by Herman Aishana, Kaktovik
Contributed by William H. Skinner