Land of the Silver Birch is a traditional Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 folk song. It is sometimes sung to keep time while canoeing

Canoeing

Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....

, and sometimes sung at campfire

Campfire

A campfire is a fire lit at a campsite, to serve the following functions: light, warmth, a beacon, a bug and/or apex predator deterrent, to cook, and for a psychological sense of security. In established campgrounds they are usually in a fire ring for safety. Campfires are a popular feature of...

s in a round

Round (music)

A round is a musical composition in which two or more voices sing exactly the same melody , but with each voice beginning at different times so that different parts of the melody coincide in the different voices, but nevertheless fit harmoniously together...

. It is in Aeolian

Aeolian mode

The Aeolian mode is a musical mode or, in modern usage, a diatonic scale called the natural minor scale.The word "Aeolian" in the music theory of ancient Greece was an alternative name for what Aristoxenus called the Low Lydian tonos , nine semitones...

, or Natural Minor

Minor

Minor means "not important", and in Latin "smaller". It may also refer to:* an underage child, see Minor * Academic minor, a secondary focus of a Bachelor's degree, the primary focus being an academic major-Mathematics:...

, but some have performed it with a raised fourth in the forest, creating a dorian

Dorian mode

Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different musical modes or diatonic scales, the Greek, the medieval, and the modern.- Greek Dorian mode :...

 feel.

Its subject matter is a romanticized vision of nature and the land from the perceptive of an indigenous person, but it remains popular with the non-Aboriginal majority in Canada.

The song appears in the Paul Gross

Paul Gross

Paul Michael Gross is a Canadian actor, producer, director, singer and writer born in Calgary, Alberta. He is known for his lead role as Constable Benton Fraser in the television series Due South as well as his 2008 war film Passchendaele, which he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in...

 film Men With Brooms

Men with Brooms

Men with Brooms is a 2002 Canadian romantic comedy film, starring and directed by Paul Gross. Centred on the sport of curling, the offbeat comedy tells the story of a reunited curling team from a small Canadian town as they work through their respective life issues and struggle to win the...

(2002).

In 2005, the song was partly re-written by Canadian folk singer Dickson Reid and released on his debut album, "Sugar in the Snow".

Lyrics

Like most traditional songs the lyrics vary slightly. The following are representative:

Land of the silver birch
Home of the beaver
Where still the mighty moose
Wanders at will

Refrain:
Blue lake and rocky shore
I will return once more
Boom diddy-ah da, boom diddy-ah da, boom diddy-ah da, boom

My heart grows sick for thee
Here in the low lands
I will return to thee
Hills of the north

Refrain

High on a rocky ledge
I'll build my wigwam
Close to the water's edge
Silent and still

Refrain

It is related to a similar song "My Paddle's Keen and Bright", written by Margaret Embers McGee in 1918, which is used to keep time paddling and is frequently intermingled:

My paddle's keen and bright
Flashing with silver
Follow the wild goose flight
Dip, dip and swing

Dip, dip and swing her back
Flashing with silver
Swift as the wild goose flies
Dip, dip and swing

Alternative Lyrics

The lyrics of this song can be quite different depending on who you talk to and what region of Canada they are from. Some possible variations and additional verses:

Down in the forest
Deep in the lowlands
My heart cries out for thee
Hills of the North

High as an eagle soars
Over the mountains
My spirit rises up
Free as a bird

Land of the chicken pox
Home of the measles
Where still the mighty flu
Wanders at will

Blue faced with swollen Tongue
That is how this song is sung
Boom diddy boom boom, bomm diddy boom boom, boom diddy boom boom boo-om

Silver Birch in the Scouts and Guiding Movement

Since the 1930's, the song has been popular with Boy Scouts

Scouts Canada

Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association that, in affiliation with the French-language Association des Scouts du Canada, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement...

 and Girl Guides

Girl Guides of Canada

Girl Guides of Canada - Guides du Canada is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started in 1910 and was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1928. As of 2006, the association had 116,206 members.-History:Mary Malcolmson...

. Its origin is unclear.
It is sung regularly at Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 Scout and Girl Guide Camps, including Doe Lake, Camp Maple Leaf, and Camp Wenonah.