Chehalis

CHEHALIS
words by Mary Garvey, tune by Richard Baker
Sung by Mary Garvey

My name is Frieda Shiller, I am a dairy maid
With eggs and cream and buttermilk, yah, that is how I'm paid
I take my goods to market, sometimes to the store
When the train comes to Chehalis then, I hope to sell some more

The lilac trees are blooming now in pretty little dells
You can tell the cows are coming home by the tinkling of their bells
When twilight falls they are in their stalls, all happy and content
And I am in my milkhouse where my time is often spent

You'll never see a fever here, a fly cannot be found
And hired hands scoop up the mess before it hits the ground
You ask me why I work so hard and I will tell you this
I do because I ought to and I do because I'm Swiss

When the Skoomumchuck is rising and overflows its banks
I take my cows to higher ground and pause there and give thanks
For two strong arms and dairy farms and grass on which they graze
And rivers deep enough to flood, and calm and peaceful days

Pacific Nothwest Folklore Society