“Scroll down to the end of the article to listen to music.”
Introduction
Stompin’ Tom Connors’s “The Ballad of Muk Tuk Annie” (1974) spins a cheeky, spirited yarn of a tiny powerhouse from the Arctic who chases dreams, faces prejudice, then comes home to triumph. Based on a longer poem by Eric Linden, the song brims with Connors’s trademark humor, northern charm, and a celebration of resilience that still resonates decades later.
Stompin’ Tom Connors first recorded “The Ballad of Muk Tuk Annie” on his 1974 album Stompin’ Tom Meets Muk Tuk Annie. The tune itself was penned by songwriter Bob Ruzicka and originally released by Jimmy “Arthur” Ordge in 1970. Connors’s version distilled Linden’s long narrative poem into a four‑and‑a‑half‑minute musical romp, pairing rollicking guitar licks with lyrics that paint vivid northern scenes.
At the heart of the song is Muk‑Tuk Annie, once crowned “Miss Baffin Island beauty queen,” who heads south to Montreal with big-city dreams—and a wardrobe that turns heads (“see‑through blouse and sealskin mini”). There, her ambition meets prejudice: she’s too short to dance ballet (“four‑foot‑six with her mukluks off”) and too unconventional to fit anyone’s mold. Yet Annie refuses to be boxed in by others’ expectations.
Annie eventually returns north and opens a “little groovy club” in Frobisher Bay (today’s Iqaluit), where “Old Stompin’ Tom on the record player” welcomes locals and travelers alike. Serving tea, beer, even antifreeze, she builds a space that honors her roots and her spirit—proof that coming home can be the boldest move of all.
More than a novelty song, “The Ballad of Muk Tuk Annie” celebrates perseverance, cultural pride, and finding success on your own terms. Connors—a true Canadian icon—crafted over 300 songs about every region of his country, yet this one remains a hidden gem that spotlights Inuit life and northern landscapes with genuine affection and wit .
Have you ever chased a dream that others doubted? What’s your own “Muk Tuk Annie” moment of proving everyone wrong? Share your story below and keep Annie’s adventurous spirit alive.
Video
Lyrics
Yeah, let me tell you the story about Muk Tuk Annie
who came south to go to school
With a see-through blouse and seal-skin mini
Ol’ Annie sure looked cool
She flew into Montreal in the early fall
Like nothin’ they’d ever seen
With long black hair and reindeer underwear
She weighed about 216
She came a long, long, way from Frobisher Bay
People, don’t you know now what I mean?
She had the boys all cryin’ on the Distant Early Warning Line
Ol’ Muk Tuk Annie could really make the scene
Well, she told her teacher that she wanted to dance
Said she wanted to study ballet
But she was four foot six with her mukluks off
And I heard her teacher say
“Now, I ain’t sayin’, Annie, that you can’t dance
No, I wouldn’t want to tell you that
But, I got a form here, signed in triplicate
Says you got to learn to drive a cat”
She says, “I don’t want to learn to cook or sew
Build boats or drive no cat
‘Cause I came south to learn to sing and dance
And groovy shi- like that”
“‘Cause I was Miss Baffin Island Beauty Queen
for 1974
And I spent a whole weekend in Grease, Fjord
With the boys beatin’ down my door”
She came a long, long way from Frobisher Bay
People, don’t you know now what I mean?
She had the boys all cryin’ on the Distant Early Warning Line
Ol’ Muk Tuk Annie could really make the scene
Well, she said, “Thank you for your trouble, sir
But, I’ll make it on my own
And the word spread through the north like willdfire
Big Annie’s comin’ home
She got off of the plane with a record player
Ballet slippers on her toes
And she opened up a little groovy Club
Where everybody comes and goes
She got ol’ Stompin’ Tom on the record player
And she serves good booze and grub
And the folks around Baffin Island
Figure it’s better than any ol’ playboy club
You can drink tea, beer and anti-freeze
‘Til you fall right off of your feet
And there’s seal flippers and potato chips
when you feel like something to eat
She came a long, long, way from Frobisher Bay
People, don’t you know now what I mean?
She had the boys all cryin’ on the Distant Early Warning Line
Ol’ Muk Tuk Annie could really make the scene
Well, she packs that joint almost every night
And folks come from miles around
And every night about ten o’clock
All the house Lights are turned way down
And, suddenly, she’s on the stage
Wearin’ that toothless grin
Short, fat Annie, the goddess of love
And she’s goin’ do her dance of sin
Well, she jumps and shouts and huffs and puffs
And does a little bump and grind
And all she’s wearing is them ptarmigan feathers
Scotch-taped to her behind
Well, she made about a hundred grand last year
Which wasn’t too bad at all
And decided to take a little holiday
So she flew down to Montreal
It seems she ran into her teacher there
You know, the one that she met before
And she gave him a job, tending the bar
And taking tickets at her night-club door
She came a long, long, way from Frobisher Bay
People, don’t you know now what I mean?
She had the boys all cryin’ on the Distant Early Warning Line
Ol’ Muk Tuk Annie could really make the scene
Let me tell you now, Muk Tuk Annie could really make the scene
Let me tell you now, Muk Tuk Annie could really make the scene