"Cod Liver Oil" is a song about a traditional medicinal drink for many
Newfoundlanders.
Cod liver oil
Cod liver oil is a dietary supplement derived from liver of Atlantic cod (''Gadus morhua''). As with most fish oils, it contains the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and also vitamin A and vita ...
in the traditional way of manufacture was sun cured and served in bottles in its raw form. The song was written by
Johnny Burke (1851–1930), a balladeer from
St. John's, Newfoundland. It has been recorded by
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades.
Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...
,
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...
, Irish band
The Dubliners
The Dubliners () were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in pers ...
, and by Newfoundland
folk rock
Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
band
Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea was a Canadian folk rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year Irish, Scott ...
on their album ''
The Hard and the Easy''.
The song is played to the melody of the traditional
Irish sean-nós song "An Lacha Bacach" (
Irish: ''The Lame Duck''), as famously portrayed by
Nell Ní Chróinín.
See also
*
List of Newfoundland songs
References
External links
Cod Liver Oil by Ryan's FancyDictionary of Newfoundland English
Newfoundland and Labrador folk songs
Canadian folk songs
Songs written by Johnny Burke (Newfoundland songwriter)
Year of song missing
The Dubliners songs
{{Folk-song-stub
Great Big Sea songs