Jay Ducharme - The Hampshire and Hampden Canal Song

Two centuries ago, a project was begun
To carry goods for sale north from Farmington
With roads too slow and money ever tight
A new canal was the rationale to get things moving right
Immigrants and migrants dug the ditches all by hand
But the path they followed didn't go as planned
They should have thought a little more about their rationale
For the Hampshire and Hampden canal
From New Haven to Farmington, continuing up north
Through Westfield to Northampton, but it never proved its worth
Expenses never stopped; investors lost their shirt
Water rose as profits sank. Now nothing's left but dirt
Blinded by their horse-drawn boats, they never saw the signs
That all their goods were being shipped on brand new railroad lines
Tempers flared as builders dared to dig through fertile ground
So farmers siphoned off the flow and soon the project drowned
Could anyone now trace the paths that centuries erased
And find the scars remaining from what was cut in haste?
Immigrants and migrants dug the ditches all by hand
But the path they followed didn't go as planned
They should have thought a little more about their rationale
For the Hampshire and Hampden canal
Land changed hands and what now stands was never in their plans
Could they today find rationale
For the Hampshire and Hampden, Farmington, New Haven
For the long lost Pioneer Valley canal?

Written by:
Jay Ducharme

Publisher:
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid

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