Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
She is Lake Ontario
[Intro]
What lake is this?
Lake Ontario!
What name shall stand?
Lake Ontario!
[Verse 1]
They signed a page in Washington
And held it to the light
Then claimed a stroke of ink could make
An ancient name take flight
But paper cannot turn the tide
Or make the wind obey
She was Lake Ontario
And Ontario she’ll stay
[Chorus]
Heave away, Ontario
Let the cold northwester blow
From the Scarborough Bluffs to old Oswego
Every harbour, hull, and sailor knows
Print what you like upon the maps you show
She was Lake Ontario
She is Lake Ontario
And Lake Ontario she’ll stay
[Verse 2]
Before the stars and stripes were sewn
Before the maple flew
Her name came from the peoples here
Before those borders grew
No president invented her
No order made her waves
She rolled before their flags were flown
And she will roll beyond their days
[Chorus]
Heave away, Ontario
Let the cold northwester blow
From the Scarborough Bluffs to old Oswego
Every harbour, hull, and sailor knows
Print what you like upon the maps you show
She was Lake Ontario
She is Lake Ontario
And Lake Ontario she’ll stay
[Verse 3]
You may command your clerks to type
Whatever suits the day
And scrape the name Ontario
From every chart they make
From Kingston down to Rochester
The answer rides the spray
You haven’t changed the lake at all
You’ve only changed your page
[Chorus]
Heave away, Ontario
Let the cold northwester blow
From the Scarborough Bluffs to old Oswego
Every harbour, hull, and sailor knows
Print what you like upon the maps you show
She was Lake Ontario
She is Lake Ontario
And Lake Ontario she’ll stay
[Verse 4]
A lake that lies between two lands
Can’t bow to one alone
You named the whole as though the lake
Were yours and yours alone
The border’s drawn upon the map
But water slips away
No wave will carry a passport
No wind heeds what you say
[Breakdown]
Can ink command the water?
No!
Can one man own the shore?
No!
And what do we still call her?
Ontario evermore!
[Verse 5]
Raise a glass in Hamilton
Let Toronto join the song
From Picton through the Thousand Isles
Let every voice sing strong
For boastful names will come and go
Like foam upon the bay
But she was Lake Ontario
And Ontario she’ll stay
[Final Chorus]
Heave away, Ontario
Let the cold northwester blow
From the Scarborough Bluffs to old Oswego
Every harbour, hull, and sailor knows
Print what you like upon the maps you show
She was Lake Ontario
She is Lake Ontario
And Lake Ontario she’ll stay
[Outro]
She was Lake Ontario
Long before this present day
She was Lake Ontario
And Ontario she’ll stay
She is Lake Ontario
[Intro]
What lake is this?
Lake Ontario!
What name shall stand?
Lake Ontario!
[Verse 1]
They signed a page in Washington
And held it to the light
Then claimed a stroke of ink could make
An ancient name take flight
But paper cannot turn the tide
Or make the wind obey
She was Lake Ontario
And Ontario she’ll stay
[Chorus]
Heave away, Ontario
Let the cold northwester blow
From the Scarborough Bluffs to old Oswego
Every harbour, hull, and sailor knows
Print what you like upon the maps you show
She was Lake Ontario
She is Lake Ontario
And Lake Ontario she’ll stay
[Verse 2]
Before the stars and stripes were sewn
Before the maple flew
Her name came from the peoples here
Before those borders grew
No president invented her
No order made her waves
She rolled before their flags were flown
And she will roll beyond their days
[Chorus]
Heave away, Ontario
Let the cold northwester blow
From the Scarborough Bluffs to old Oswego
Every harbour, hull, and sailor knows
Print what you like upon the maps you show
She was Lake Ontario
She is Lake Ontario
And Lake Ontario she’ll stay
[Verse 3]
You may command your clerks to type
Whatever suits the day
And scrape the name Ontario
From every chart they make
From Kingston down to Rochester
The answer rides the spray
You haven’t changed the lake at all
You’ve only changed your page
[Chorus]
Heave away, Ontario
Let the cold northwester blow
From the Scarborough Bluffs to old Oswego
Every harbour, hull, and sailor knows
Print what you like upon the maps you show
She was Lake Ontario
She is Lake Ontario
And Lake Ontario she’ll stay
[Verse 4]
A lake that lies between two lands
Can’t bow to one alone
You named the whole as though the lake
Were yours and yours alone
The border’s drawn upon the map
But water slips away
No wave will carry a passport
No wind heeds what you say
[Breakdown]
Can ink command the water?
No!
Can one man own the shore?
No!
And what do we still call her?
Ontario evermore!
[Verse 5]
Raise a glass in Hamilton
Let Toronto join the song
From Picton through the Thousand Isles
Let every voice sing strong
For boastful names will come and go
Like foam upon the bay
But she was Lake Ontario
And Ontario she’ll stay
[Final Chorus]
Heave away, Ontario
Let the cold northwester blow
From the Scarborough Bluffs to old Oswego
Every harbour, hull, and sailor knows
Print what you like upon the maps you show
She was Lake Ontario
She is Lake Ontario
And Lake Ontario she’ll stay
[Outro]
She was Lake Ontario
Long before this present day
She was Lake Ontario
And Ontario she’ll stay
