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A Simply Extraordinary Life

by Tiller's Folly

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about

“A Simply Extraordinary Life” is a song that celebrates the extraordinary adventures Samuel Robertson; Orcadian, Hudson’s Bay Company servant, boat builder, carpenter, entrepreneur, publican, agriculturist, gold miner & historic figure, whose life spanned a dramatic transition of the region once known as New Caledonia, into a Colony of Britain, and eventually into the westernmost province in the Dominion of Canada.

For over a quarter-century, Tiller’s Folly have been uniting past with present as modern-day storytellers of lore, singing the West’s pioneer history to life. From the outset, the band aspired to create acoustic music that is thoughtful, progressive, yet timeless in nature. Music that represents their Pacific Coastal home. They set out to preserve a measure of the West’s heritage in stories & songs. Drawing influence from Scottish, Irish and English Music traditions, they continue to refine their potent blend of Pacific Canadiana.

This song was commissioned by the British Columbia Farm Museum in Langley Township to commemorate the birth of agriculture in British Columbia. It was composed by Bruce Coughlan, who also drafted a short “Songumentary” to accompany the song, and to place the story in historic perspective. Samuel Robertson was one of the very first farmers on the north side of the Fraser River and his pre-emption included today’s Kanaka Creek Park, just a few blocks from Coughlan’s Maple Ridge home.

lyrics

A Simply Extraordinary Life

He came from a land where legends are borne
Of stone ‘neath a vast, leaden sky
Of the life he had led, it could never be said
He had ever let time pass him by

He worked with his hands building “Flatties” & “Yoles”
And like mony’s the lad of his day
Signed on for a term, and from there not return
From those lands far beyond Hudson’s Bay

You can’t gauge a man by the coat on his back
Nor the workaday work that he plies
Sam Robertson lived in his own quiet way
A simply extraordinary life

So westward he made where he worked at his trade
And he came to the Fraser’s green shore
Where he started a life with his new country wife
One of promise as never before

Came the time of the Great Fraser Goldrush
In the days of the Fur Trade’s decline
What Cheer! was the toast, when Sam was the host
Selling gold miners whisky and wine

He dreamed of a home and land of his own
With orchards and gardens and greens
To the river’s far shore, he’d take to his oars
And to plant there the seeds of his dreams

Who’d ever thought so humble a man
Could prove so pragmatic & wise?
Sam Robertson lived in his own quiet way
A simply extraordinary life

1864 he left his crops behind him
On a steamship bound to Fort Yale
400 miles he strolled, dug a fortune up in gold
Then walked 400 miles back home again!

Where he’d once dreamed a home and lands of his own
Is today where fair Albion stands
Samuel lived out his days in a quiet, peaceful way
On 700 acres of land!

No, you can’t gauge a man by the coat on his back
Nor the workaday work that he plies
Sam Robertson lived in his own quiet way
A simply extraordinary life

credits

released February 17, 2024
Bruce Coughlan – vocals, guitar & whistle
Nolan Murray – fiddle & mandolin
Laurence Knight – bass
Chris Nordquist – drums
Recorded by Larry Anschell at Turtle Sound Recorders, White Rock, BC Canada
Mixed & mastered by Joby Baker at Baker Studios, Victoria, BC Canada

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Bruce Coughlan Maple Ridge, British Columbia

Pacific Canadian-based recording & performing artist, Bruce Coughlan has spent decades making Acoustic Roots Music Music of all descriptions. An expressive singer and rock-solid guitarist, Bruce is driven by one guiding principle: It's all about the Song. ... more

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