This is one of Canada’s most iconic folk songs. "The Black Fly Song" was originally believed to have been written by Wade Hemsworth in 1949 while he was visiting Northern Ontario with an Ontario Hydro survey party to study the feasibility of a dam on the Little Abitibi River, which flows north towards James Bay. However, in a 1996 interview, Hemsworth explained that, though the song recounts that experience, he actually wrote it while on a survey expedition in Labrador. It was recorded by Pete Seeger, Bill Staines and Brian Bowers. I think it was Bill Staines who used to test the state of inebriation of the audience by getting them to sing along on the chorus. If all they could manage was "i-o-i-o", they were pretty drunk. For some reason this song always brings to mind "Drill Ye Tarriers", also in this section. I think it's the similarities of the work crews and some phrases of the tune.