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Artist/Band: Hank Snow
Lyrics for Song: The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill
Lyrics for Album: The Singing Ranger, Vol. 3 [Bear Family (Germany)] [1994]



(Robert W. Service)



I took a contract to bury the body of blasphemous Bill MacKie

Whenever wherever or whatsoever the manner of death he die

Whether he die in the light o' day or under the peak-faced moon

In cabin or dance-hall camp or dive mucklucks or patent shoon.



On velvet tundra or virgin peak by glacier drift or draw

In muskeg hollow or canyon gloom by avalanche fang or claw

By battle murder or sudden wealth by pestilence hooch or lead

I swore on the Book I would follow and look till I found my tombless dead.



For Bill was a dainty kind of cuss and his mind was mighty sot

On a dinky patch with flowers and grass in a civilized boneyard lot

And where he died or how he died it didn't matter a damn

So long as he had a grave with frills and a tombstone epigram.



So I promised him and he paid the price in good cheechako coin

Which the same I blowed in that very night down in the Tenderloin

Then I painted a three-foot slab of pine here lies poor Bill MacKie

And I hung it up on my cabin wall and waited for Bill to die.



Years passed away and at last one day came a squaw with a story strange

Of a long-deserted line of traps way back of the Bighorn range

Of a little hut by the great divide and a white man stiff and still

Lying there by his lonesome self and I figured it must be Bill.



So I thought of the contract I'd made with him and I took down from the shelf

The swell black box with the silver plate he'd picked out for hisself

And I packed it full of grub and hooch and I slung it on the sleigh

Then I harnessed up my team of dogs and was off at dawn of day.



You know what it's like in the Yukon wild when it's sixty-nine below

When the ice-worms wriggle their purple heads through the crust of the pale blue snow

When the pine trees crack like little guns in the silence of the wood

And the icicles hang down like tusks under the parka hood.



When the stove-pipe smoke breaks sudden off and the sky is weirdly lit

And the careless feel of a bit of steel burns like a red-hot spit

When the mercury is a frozen ball and the frost-fiend stalks to kill

Well it was just like that that day when I set out to look for Bill.



Oh the awful hush that seemed to crush me down on every hand

As I blundered blind with a trail to find through that blank and bitter land

Half dazed half crazed in the winter wild with its grim heartbraking woes

And the ruthless strife for a grip on life that only the sourdough knows.



North by the compass North I pressed river and peak and plain

Passed like a dream I slept to lose and I waked to dream again

River and plain and mighty peak and who could stand unawed

As their summits blazed he could stand undazed

At the foot of the throne of God.



North aye North through a land accurst shunned by the scouring brutes

And all I heard was my own harsh word and the whine of the malamutes

Till at last I came to a cabin squat built in the side of a hill

And I burst in the door and there on the floor frozen to death lay Bill.



Ice white ice like a winding-sheet sheathing each smoke-grimed wall

Ice on the stove-pipe ice on the bed ice gleaming over all

Sparkling ice on the dead man's chest glittering ice in his hair

Ice on his fingers ice in his heart ice in his glassy stare.



Hard as a log and trussed like a frog with his arms and legs outspread

I gazed at the coffin I'd brought for him and I gazed at the gruesome dead

And at last I spoke Bill liked his joke but still goldarn his eyes

A man had ought to consider his mates in the way he goes and dies.



Have you ever stood in an Arctic hut in the shadow of the Pole

With a little coffin six by three and a grief you can't control

Have you ever sat by a frozen corpse that looks at you with a grin

And that seems to say you may try all day but you'll never jam me in.



I'm not a man of the quitting kind but I never felt so blue

As I sat there gazing at that stiff and studying what I'd do

Then I rose and I kicked off the husky dogs that were nosing round about

And I lit a roaring fire in the stove and I started to thaw Bill out.



Well I thawed and I thawed for thirteen days but it didn't seem no good

His arms and his legs stuck out like pegs as if they were made of wood

Till at last I said it ain't no use he's froze too hard to thaw

He's obstinate and he won't lie straight so I guess I got to saw.



So I sawed off poor Bill's arms and legs and I laid him snug and straight

In the little coffin he picked hisself with the dinky silver plate

And I came nigh near to shedding a tear as I nailed him safely down

Then I stowed him away in my Yukon sleigh and I started back to town.



So I buried him as the contract was in a narrow grave and deep

And there he's waiting the Great Clean-up when the the Judgment sluice-heads sweep

And I smoke my pipe and I meditate in the light of the Midnight Sun

And sometimes I wonder if they was the awful things I done.



And as I sit and the parson talks expounding of the Law

I often think of poor old Bill and how hard he was to saw...


The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill

Hank Snow, widely recognized as the Yodeling Ranger, delivered a distinctive brand of country music that blended traditional storytelling with polished production. The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill stands as a testament to his narrative songwriting, capturing the dramatic flair that defined his extensive discography. Recorded during a prolific era for the Canadian-born star, the track showcases his signature vocal style and ability to craft compelling character studies within the country genre. This recording reflects Snow's enduring influence on the genre, offering listeners a glimpse into the rich tapestry of his work beyond his most famous chart-topping hits. As part of his broader body of recordings, the song highlights his commitment to maintaining high standards in country music performance and composition.


Album Lyrics: The Singing Ranger, Vol. 3 [Bear Family (Germany)] [1994]


Hank Snow
"The Singing Ranger, Vol. 3 [Bear Family (Germany)] [1994]"


1. I Love You Because
2. I Care No More
3. Fraulein
4. Return to Me
5. Mansion on the Hill
6. Limbo Rock
7. Tammy
8. Wheels
9. Tiptoeing
10. Poison Love
11. Hold Me Tight
12. I Saw the Light
13. Difficult
14. Little Stranger (In a Manger)
15. Christmas Roses
16. Silent Night
17. C-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s
18. White Christmas
19. Frosty the Snowman
20. God Is My Santa Claus
21. I Ain't Been Anywhere
22. Rome Wasn't Built in a Day
23. Invisible Hands
24. Sweet Hour of Prayer
25. Jesus Wept
26. These Things Shall Pass
27. His Hands
28. Farther Along
29. Gloryland March
30. I Saw a Man
31. This Train
32. I See Jesus
33. Shopworn
34. I'm Glad I'm on the Inside Looking Out
35. I'll Go Marching Into Glory
36. How Big Is God
37. Lord's Way of Saying Goodnight
38. Promised to John
39. My Adobe Hacienda
40. No Letter Today
41. I Dreamed of An Old Love Affair
42. For Sale
43. Rose of Old Monterey
44. Moonlight and Skies
45. You and My Old Guitar
46. Down the Old Road to Home
47. I'm Sorry We Met
48. Teardrops in My Heart
49. Ridin' Home
50. Heartbreak Trail
51. Cool Water
52. Tumbling Tumbleweeds
53. At the Rainbow's End
54. Chant of the Wanderer
55. On the Rhythm Range
56. Following the Sun All Day
57. Blue Side of Lonesome
58. Green, Green Grass of Home
59. Once More You're Mine Again
60. There Goes My Everything
61. All the Time
62. It Kinda Reminds Me of Me
63. Blue, Blue Day
64. He Dropped the World in My Hands
65. Call of the Wild
66. There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere
67. You're the Reason
68. It's a Little More Like Heaven
69. Galway Bay
70. Lili Marlene
71. Geisha Girl
72. Melba from Melbourne
73. Cuba Rhumba
74. Queen of Draw Poker Club
75. Now Is the Hour
76. In the Misty Moonlight
77. From a Jack to a King
78. She Wears My Ring
79. Mary Ann Regrets
80. White Silver Sands
81. Lonesome 7-7203
82. Gonna Find Me a Bluebird
83. Sweet Lies
84. Handcuffed to Love
85. Bummin' Around
86. I've Cried a Mile
87. You Take the Future (And I'll Take the Past)
88. Flying South
89. Miami Snow
90. At the First Fall of Snow
91. You're as Welcome as the Flowers in May
92. January
93. Springtime in the Rockies
94. Roses in the Snow
95. Beyond the Reef
96. Trade Winds
97. Don't Sing Aloha When I Go
98. Oahu Rose
99. The Wayward Wind
100. Walking the Last Mile
101. Old Rover
102. Put Your Arms Around Me
103. Little Joe
104. Cross the Brazos at Waco
105. Nuevo Laredo
106. Adios Amigo
107. Maria Elena
108. Senorita Rosalita
109. Dangerous Dan McGrew
110. Ballad of One Eyed Mike
111. My Friends
112. I Wish My Heart Could Talk
113. Wreck of the Old '97
114. Crazy Little Train of Love
115. Blue Yodel, No. 10
116. Father Time and Mother Love
117. Rockin' Rollin' Ocean [With Wave Effect]
118. Rockin' Rollin' Ocean [Without Wave Effect]
119. Casey's Washerwoman Boogie [Instrumental]
120. Hawaiian Sunset [Instrumental]
121. The Man Who Robbed the Bank at Santa Fe
122. The Texas Plains
123. Patanio (The Pride of the Plains)
124. A Legend in My Time
125. A Petal from a Faded Rose
126. The Change of the Tide
127. Mockin' Bird Hill
127. If It's Wrong to Love You
127. The Blue Canadian Rockies
127. Sonny Boy [Instrumental]
127. Unchained Melody [Instrumental]
127. Beautiful Dreamer [Instrumental]
127. Brahms' Lullaby [Instrumental]
127. Blue Tango [Instrumental]
127. Dark Moon [Instrumental]
127. I Can't Stop Loving You [Instrumental]
127. The Convict and the Rose [Instrumental]
127. The Waltz You Saved for Me
127. Lay My Head Beneath a Rose [Instrumental]
127. Whispering Hope [Instrumental]
127. Sentimental Journey [Instrumental]
127. Am I Losing You? [Instrumental]
127. I Get the Blues When It Rains [Instrumental]
127. Sweet Marie [Instrumental]
127. Birth of the Blues [Instrumental]
127. The Christmas Cannonball
127. A Letter to Santa Claus
127. The Face on the Barroom Floor
127. The Cremation of Sam McGee
127. The Spell of the Yukon
127. The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill
127. The Last Mile of the Way
127. Dear Lord, Remember Me
127. The Runt
127. The Prisoner's Dream
127. Mother I Thank You (For the Bible You Gave)
127. Rocking Alone in an Old Rocking Chair
127. To You Sweetheart, Aloha
127. My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii
127. On the Beach in Waikiki
127. Pearly Shells
127. The Whispering Tradewinds [Instrumental]
127. Among My Souvenirs [Instrumental]
127. The Seasons
127. All Nite Cafe
127. The Tip of My Fingers
127. A Wound Time Can't Erase
127. The Name of the Game Was Love