From the port of Saint-Malo, the Grande Hermine set sail

With a crew of sturdy Bretons who could weather any gale

King Francis wanted riches and a passage to the East

But they found the Great St

Lawrence, a wild and frozen beast

Heave away for Cartier, the Gulf is open wide

They're riding up the river on a cold and salty tide

De Montréal à la Ville de Québec

they raised the lilies high

Underneath the granite cliffs and a vast northern sky

Heave away

Heave away

Yeah

The winter bit their fingers

and the scurvy thinned the line

Till the bark of white cedar made them feel better in time

They filled their holds with diamonds

that were only common quartz

And they left the King of France

a land of woods and rocky ports

Heave away for Cartier, the Gulf is open wide

They're riding up the river on a cold and salty tide

De Montréal à la Ville de Québec

they raised the lilies high

Underneath the granite cliffs and a vast northern sky

Heave away

Heave away

Oh-oh-oh