Mina Benson Hubbard

(L.E. Noel © 1989)

I thought it only fitting

And my soul of adventure it touched

That my husband's name should reap the rewards

Of a journey that cost him so much

So I left my Ontario farmhouse

And set out for Ungava Bay

To paddle the unknown wilderness

And discover a woman's way.

And I've never found so much freedom

I've never felt so much at home

In the golden stillness of a northern sunset

Or the strength of the wild rapids' foam

Charting a course for my own canoe

Living from day to day

Paddling the unknown wilderness

To discover a woman's way.

Now the men didn't think it was fitting

How often they scolded and teased

And I wished to myself that I was a man

And could do anything that I pleased

But I had my share of adventures

I wrote down at the end of each day

As I paddled the unknown wilderness

To discover a woman's way.

And I've never found so much freedom

I've never felt so much at home

In the golden stillness of a northern sunset

Or the strength of the wild rapids' foam

Charting a course for my own canoe

Living from day to day

Paddling the unknown wilderness

To discover a woman's way.

Now some folks might think it's not fitting

For a woman to roam round the Pole

But that northern journey of sunsets and rapids

Brought stillness and strength to my soul

And here's what my story can tell you

If you're a young woman today

Go paddle your own unknown wilderness

And discover your own woman's way.

And you'll never find so much freedom

You'll never feel so much at home

In the golden stillness of a northern sunset

And the strength of the wild rapids' foam

Charting a course for your own canoe

Living from day to day

Paddling the unknown wilderness

To discover a woman's way.