The war was over
And the spirit was broken
The hills were smokin'
As the men withdrew
We stood on the cliffs,
Oh and watched the ships,
Slowly sinking to their rendezvous

They signed a treaty
And our homes were taken
Loved-ones forsaken,
They didn't give a damn.
Try to raise a family
End up an enemy
Over what went down on the Plains of Abraham.

[Chorus]
Acadian driftwood,
Gypsy tailwind
They call my home,
The land of snow
Canadian cold front,
Movin' in
What a way to ride,
Oh what a way to go

Then some returned,
To the motherland
The high command,
Had them cast away
Some stayed on,
To finish what they started
They never parted,
They're just built that way

We had kin livin',
South of the border
They're a little older,
And they been around
They wrote in a letter
Life is a whole lot better
So pull up your stakes, children,
And come on down

Acadian driftwood,
Gypsy tailwind
They call my home,
The land of snow
Canadian cold front,
Movin' in
What a way to ride,
Oh what a way to go

Fifty under zero when the day became a threat
My clothes were wet
And I was drenched to the bone
Then out ice fishin', mmm,
Too much repetition
Make a man want to leave
The only home he's known

Sailed out of the Gulf,
Headed for St. Pierre
Nothing to declare,
All we had was gone
Broke down along the coast oh
What hurt the most
When the people there said
"You better keep movin' on"

Acadian driftwood,
Gypsy tailwind
They call my home,
The land of snow
Canadian cold front,
Movin' in
What a way to ride,
Oh what a way to go

Everlastin' summer
Filled with ill-contempt
This government
Had us walkin' in chains
This isn't my turn
This isn't my season
Can't think of one good reason
To remain oh

We worked in the sugar fields
Up from New Orleans
It was ever-green
Up until the flood
You could call it an omen
Point ya where ya goin'
Set my compass North
I got winter in my blood

Acadian driftwood,
Gypsy tailwind
They call my home,
The land of snow
Canadian cold front,
Movin' in
What a way to ride,
Oh what a way to go

Sais tu, Acadie j'ai le mal do pays
Ta neige, Acadie, fait des larmes au soleil
J'arrive Acadie, teedle um, teedle um, teedle oo
J'arrive Acadie, teedle um, teedle um, teedle oo
J'arrive Acadie, teedle um, teedle um, teedle oo
J'arrive Acadie, teedle um, teedle um, teedle oo
J'arrive Acadie, teedle um, teedle um, teedle oo


Lyrics submitted by H-bomb

Acadian Driftwood Lyrics as written by Robbie Robertson

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Acadian Driftwood song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

6 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    My only question is: what does "teedle um, teedle um, teedle oo" mean in French?

    ZFTon April 06, 2013   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,