WITH  ME  RUBBER  BOOTS  ON

Time signature:  3/4
Lyrics attributed to Fred Northcotte of Ramea, and
recorded by Dick Nolan and by Harry Hibbs in 1980s.
Probably an NL variant of the English "Navvy Boots" song
UNDER  CONSTRUCTION:  Everything needs to be checked.
​
Button Accordion  Notation
​Beats per bar = 3
Beat symbol  =  Dot ( . ) or equivalent
Either row (high) = Buttons  5 to 9*
Inside row  (low) =  Buttons 2 to 5* plus o3*
Verse 1 (of 8)

"6   "7*   |   .7   .7*   .7   |   .6   .5*     .5   |   .5      .5*       .6*     |    .:6~ | ~:  
"3   "3*   |   .4   .3*   .4   |   .3  .o3*    .2   |   .2     .o3*      .2*     |    .:3~ | ~:
I'm   a       heart-y   old     sail-or   from   New-found-land's   shore

 "6  "6   |      .6       .7   .8   |   .8      .7    "8   "8   |    .9*    .8      .7  |   .:7*~ | ~:   
 "3  "3   |      .3       .4   .5   |   .5      .4    "5   "5   |    .5*    .5      .4  |   .:3*~ | ~:
And   I      worked for my     liv  -  in'   on  the    cold  Lab -  ra  -  dor


  "6   "6   |   .6   .7   .8    |   .8   .7    .8    |   .9*    .8    .7   |    :7* 
  "3   "3   |   .3   .4   .5    |   .5   .4    .5    |   .5*    .5    .4   |    :3*  
Now the    fishin's all      ov - er,  our    work  is    all     done,


 "6   "7*   |    .7    .7*   .7   |   .6       .5*    .5   |   "5    ;5*     .6*    |   .:6~ | ~:
 "3   "3*   |    .4    .3*   .4   |   .3      .o3*   .2   |   "2   ;o3*    .2*    |   .:3~ | ~:
And I'm     goin' out   to - night,  with  me     rub-ber  boots     on
​
​Guitar Chord Notation
Key of G:   To play in G, but sound in A  -  place capo at fret 2
Key of C:    To play in C, but sound in D, E or F  -  place capo at fret 2, 4  or 5
​
               G                    C                       D7                           G
               C                     F                       G7                           C
I'm   a    heart-y   old   sail-or   from   New-found-land's  shore

                                          Em                            A                       D
                                          Am                            D                       G
And   I   worked  for  my   liv  -  in'   on  the   cold  Lab - ra - dor

                  G                  Em                 A                        D
                  C                  Am                 D                        G 
Now the   fishin's all    ov - er,  our  work   is   all    done,

                 G                     C                          D7                        G
                 C                      F                          G7                        C
And I'm   goin' out   to - night, with  me    rub-ber  boots    on



​If you prefer, click HERE for a full simpler set of inline chords in key of G. 
​
​
Embedded youTube VIDEOS
Total of 16 videos (including Corona Virus Edition, at end)
​                                                            in various keys:   A=2     C=1     D=3     E=1     F=1      G=8
Key:  A

Singers:  Dick Nolan

Posted by:  oldirishladdie

​
Key:   A

Accordionists:  Charlie Matthews
                         Harold Bath

Posted by:  Larry Whalen

A dual-accordion INSTRUMENTAL.
Key:   F  

Singer:  Eddie Coffey
​
Posted by:  Klassic Tunez
Key:   G

Singer:  Mark Hiscock

​Accordionist:  Mark Hiscock

​Posted by:  Mark Hiscock - Topic
Key:   G

Group:  Bristol's Hope

​Posted by:  Bristol's Hope - Topic

​From "Homebrew 5"
Key:  G

Performers: Elymer Boucher

Posted by:  Elymer Boucher
Key:   G

Singers:  Pat & Joe Byrne

Posted by:  Alan Donohoe
Key:   G

Singer:  Jordan Harnum

​Posted by:  Jordan Harnum - Topic
Key:   G

Accordionist:  Andy Russell

Posted by:  newftrotters

Button accordion INSTRUMENTAL
Key:   G

Singer:  Raymond Crooke

​Posted by:  raymondcrooke

​Mr. Crooke is from Australia.
Key:   G

Singer:  Colt Munn-Myshrall

Posted by:  Colt Munn-Myshrall
Key:   D

Accordionist:  Mary (of Labrador?)

Posted by:  labradornl
Key:  D

Singer:  Bobby Evans ?

​Posted by:  eddy thegutterguy
Key:   D
​
Singer:  Mike ?

Posted by:  mike1409040
Key:   E

Music by:  Hayward Strickland

Posted by:  Eric Green

​WITH  ME  RUBBER  BOOTS ON - CORONA (Covid-19) EDITION
Key:   C

Lyrics:  Brad Lannon ?
             Ashley Cooper ?

Singer:  Brad Lannon

Backing singer:  Ashley Cooper

Also starring:  Newt the Cat

Posted by:  Brad Lannon
Background Lyrics, Information & Links
​Lyrics:
I'm a hearty old sailor from the Newfoundland shore,
And I fish for me livin' on the cold Labrador;
Now the fishin's all over and our work is all done,
And I'm goin' out tonight  with me rubber boots on.

So I ate up my supper and shaved off my beard,
To go out a-courtin' I was highly prepared;
With the day's work all over and the night comin' on,
I'll remember that night with me rubber boots on.

I knocked on her door, my knock it was low,
And out of her slumber my knock she did know;
She came to the door and said "Is that ya, Tom?"
I said, "Yes it is, Ducky, with me rubber boots on."

She opened the door and invited me in,
And up to her bedroom she invited me then;
She jumped into bed with the blankets pulled down,
I hopped in beside her with me rubber boots on.

It was early next morning with the sun in the sky,
I turned to my true love to bid her goodbye;
She said,  "Don't you leave me, you know you done wrong,
You slept here all night with your rubber boots on."

I turned to my true love with a wink and a smile,
I said, "Nothing could happen in such a short while;
Whatever I did, love, I did it for fun."
And I jumped out of bed with me rubber boots on.

It was nine months later I was summoned to court,
Ten shillings a week just to pay for my sport;
Ten shillings a week for a fisherman's son,
I regretted that night with me rubber boots on.

And now I'm back fishin' and I'm happy for sure,
And I'm makin' big money on the cold Labrador;
And when he gets bigger I'll take 'long me son.
He'll catch the codfish with his rubber boots on.
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​Background
​
​and Links:

​It appears that the humorous folksong With Their Rubber Boots On is a Newfoundland & Labrador fisherman variant of  With Their Navvy Boots On, an older English folk song, collected in 1952, which itself is based on even older songs, the earliest being collected in 1907 (Source).   It is evident that the Rubber Boots song was not part of the NL folk music scene before 1975, based on Paul Mercer's exhaustive listing of Newfoundland songs and ballads in print 1842-1974. 

The claim for the English roots of the Rubber Boots song is supported by its reference, by most NL singers, to payments in English currency.  This is reinforced by the fact that its tune and lyrics are similar (though not identical) to those of the Navvy Boots songs.

Though collected in 1952, I'm not sure when, where, or by whom the Navvy Boots song was first composed.  However, the song is about a manual labourer (a "navvy") in North-East England, perhaps in a nineteenth century railroad construction setting.  At one point, about 30% of the Navvys in England came from Ireland, and some versions of the song show this Irish connection.

The earliest Navvy Boots youTube video I could find, by The Spinners (an English folk group), is from the mid-sixties,  Since then, it has been covered by a number of prominent folk music groups.

What makes the Navvy Boots song humorous?  Well, these sturdy boots were very important to these navvys.  It is said that they wore them everywhere, even to bed (joke), and wouldn't take them off for fear of their being lost or stolen.  

These Navvys stereotypically had reputations for being tough, for being womanizers, for being fun-loving, and for often being less than honourable.  The Navvy song reflects this stereotype, as does the Rubber Boots song.

Similar songs with similar tunes and lyrics have also featured other clothing  items, symbols of their trades, such as miners' "pit" boots, blacksmiths' leather "aprons" and even dancers' "billycocks" (a type of bowler hat, popular with certain English dancers long ago).