Left Placid in 1913 to be with the setting sun
After sweatin small wages til the day was done
Tired of civilization, tired of the lawman's gun
Became Mayor of Cold River, Population: One

Huntin, fishin, trappin Was a life of plenitude
Didn't have much time for lonely Called it solitude

Had Mrs Rondeau's kitcheonette Had his own Town Hall
Built himself some wigwams Notched lodgepoles in the fall

Used em to fuel his fires In winter's biting cold
Didn't bother cuttin firewood Just pushed em in the coals

Ol Noah Rondeau Ol Noah Rondeau
Livin on his own terms In the 'rondack snow

Clarence told me he cached supplies here and there in the woods
After hunting they'd be hungry [Ready for a Noah special ]
Ready to eat real good

He'd pull a fryin pan from one old log,
Jar of bear grease from another
Dug a deer carcass, last week's kill Frozen still, for supper

Cut her heart into pieces and throwed em in the skillet
Bugs, worms germs, fired' be sure to kill it

With the bear grease and rust bubblin in the heat
Made some mighty fine brown gravy,
[Threw in some onions and salt. My, that's savory] ... Yumm... let's eat!

Ol Noah Rondeau Ol Noah Rondeau
Lightin his pipe and enjoyin The river's evenin glow
Ol Noah Rondeau Ol Noah Rondeau
Settin his own pace ... And takin it slow

He enjoyed his reputation Enjoyed his friends much more
The few he had were friends for life Though many passed his door

When 46'r boys and hunters 'd visit for a spell
With a twinkle in his eye and on the sly He'd hook em with a tale

When a city boy said "Noah, I wanna hunt meself some bear"
Noah told him about the 3-toed lout he'd trapped in a snare

The bear remembered Noey And trapped him in a tree
NoaH jumped down and rode him bear back
Across the North Country

Ol Noah Rondeau Ol Noah Rondeau
Livin alone In the cold cold cold... Adirondack snow
Adirondack snow

N' when after the blowdown of 1950
Bill dropped a message from the sky
"Noey, you had enough yet?" Here's how he replied

With his snowshoes on out in the field
Stomped a big Y. E. S.
On an even keel, left his camp for real,
Old bones needed a rest

After 30-odd years livin his way Livin by his own laws
Worked at North Pole Village ... ... ... Playin Santa Claus

Ol Noah Rondeau Ol Noah Rondeau
Had yourself enough of the cold cold cold cold cold ... Adirondack snow

Livin on your own Far away from the Man
Had yourself a pretty good run Livin off the land

Livin off the land
Your skills were reknowned
Your front yard was the wilderness ...
Cold River was your town
Cold River ... was your town