The Black Fly Song

"The Black Fly Song"
Song by Wade Hemsworth
Language	English
Written	1949
Published	1949
Songwriter(s)	Wade Hemsworth
Composer(s)	Wade Hemsworth

"The Black Fly Song" is a song by Wade Hemsworth, written in 1949, about being tormented by black flies while working in the wilds of Northern Ontario. It is an enduring classic of Canadian folk music, covered by a variety of other artists. A new version of the song (with accompanying vocals by Kate & Anna McGarrigle) which had a completely different tempo than the original, was made into an animated short film entitled Blackfly by Christopher Hinton and the National Film Board in 1991, and was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992.

Although Hemsworth had stated he wrote the song while in Labrador, the song talks about the experiences he had while accompanying a Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario crew surveying the Little Abitibi River to the determine the feasibility of erecting a dam, the Abitibi Canyon Generating Station. He also mentioned "I wasn't with Black Toby … that was another expedition. I was writing a song; I wasn't writing literature."

It has been described as a "breakneck romp", characterized by a lively pace, though the first and last verses are reflective and slower. In addition, the verses for the most part hold an upbeat key, coming into contact with the abrasive chorus. Hemsworth provided a folksy tone and Canadian raising, and added some unique touches. To illustrate resentment for the flies, he places heavy emphasis on "black" in the words "black fly", but arguably the most distinct part of the song is where the word "Ontario" is stretched to "On-terr-eye-oh-eye-oh" (a pronunciation also used at times by other artists, such as Alan Mills and Stan Rogers).

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