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Timber lay down 'pon pit, Timber; cut 'im make we go 'way, Timber; me want go 'way ya soon, Timber; timber lay down 'pon pit, Timber; timber, timber oh! Timber; me wanty go 'way ya soon, Timber; me want go home back a yard, Timber; a cedar timber oh! Timber; lash the saw make we go home, Timber; timber lay down 'pon pit, Timber. |
"Lie down on the pit, timber. Cut it, and let us go away. I want to go away soon, do you hear? Drive (lash) the saw hard."
The pit is not really a pit. The sawing is done where the tree falls. A rough scaffolding is made and the log is rolled up to lie on the top of it. The bottom sawyer stands upon the ground.
The West Indian cedar is not a fir but a deciduous tree (Cedrela odorata), which looks like a hickory or walnut. It grows in the hills, and its lightness and durability make it very useful. Most people know it in the shape of cigar-boxes.
The rest bars are sort of pauses for breath. It will be seen that they break the rhythm. Throwing the accent on "go," in "go 'way," is characteristic. We should put it on "'way."
LXXXVII.
Listen how restless and unfinished this sounds:—
