O AY MY WIFE SHE DANG ME.

CHORUS.

O ay my wife she dang me,
An' aft my wife did bang me;
If ye gie a woman a' her will,
Guid faith she'll soon o'ergang ye.

ON peace and rest my mind was bent,
And fool I was I marry'd;
But never honest man's intent
As cursedly miscarry'd.

Some sa'r o' comfort still at last,
When a' thir days are done, man,
My pains o' hell on earth are past,
I'm sure o' bliss aboon, man.
O ay my wife, &c.

O LAY THY LOOF IN MINE,

LASS.

CHORUS.

O lay thy loof in mine, lass,

In mine, lass, in mine, lass,
And swear in thy white hand, lass,
That thou wilt be my ain.

A SLAVE to love's unbounded sway,
He aft has wrought me meikle wae ;
But now he is my deadly fae,
Unless thou be my ain.

O lay thy loof, &c.

There's monie a lass has broke my rest,
That for a blink I hae lo'ed Lest;
But thou art Queen within my breast,
For ever to remain.

O lay thy loof, &c.

O GUID ALE COMES.

CHORUS.

O guid ale comes, and guid ale goes,
Guid ale gars me sell my hose,
Sell my hose, and pawn my shoon,
Guid ale keeps my heart aboon.

I HAD Sax owsen in a pleugh,
They drew a' weel eneugh,
I sell'd them a' just ane by ane;
Guid ale keeps my heart aboon.

Guid ale hauds me bare and busy,
Gars me moop wi' the servant hizzie,
Stand i' the stool when I hae done,
Guid ale keeps my heart aboon.
O guid ale comes, &c.

O WHY THE DEUCE.
EXTEMPORE. APRIL, 1782.

O WHY the deuce should I repine,
And be an ill foreboder?
I'm twenty-three, and five feet nine-
I'll go and be a sodger.

I gat some gear wi' meikle care,
I held it weel thegither;
But now it's gane and something mair,
I'll go and be a sodger.

POLLY STEWART.

TUNE-' Ye're welcome, Charley Stewart.

CHORUS.

O lovely Polly Stewart,

O charming Polly Stewart,

There's ne'er a flower that blooms in
May,

That's half so fair as thou art.

THE flower it blaws, it fades, it fa's,
And art can ne'er renew it;
But worth and truth eternal youth
Will gie to Polly Stewart.

May he, whase arms shall fauld thy charms,

Possess a leal and true heart;
To him be given to ken the heaven
He grasps in Polly Stewart.
O lovely, &c.

ROBIN SHURE IN HAIRST.

CHORUS.

Robin shure in hairst,

I shure wi' him,
Fient a heuk had I,
Yet I stack by him.

I GAED up to Dunse,
To warp a wab o' plaiden,
At his daddie's yett,

Wha met me but Robin.

Was na Robin bauld,

Tho' I was a cotter, Play'd me sick a trick

And me the eller's dochter?

Robin promis'd me

A' my winter vittle; Fient haet he had but three Goose feathers and a whittle. Robin shure, &c.

THE FIVE CARLINS.

AN ELECTION BALLAD. 1789.
TUNE- Chevy Chase.'

THERE were five Carlins in the south,
They fell upon a scheme,

To send a lad to Lon'on town

To bring us tidings hame.

Not only bring us tidings hame,
But do our errands there,
And aiblins gowd and honour baith
Might be that laddie's share.

There was Maggie by the banks o'
Nith,

A dame wi' pride eneugh;
And Marjorie o' the monie Lochs,
A Carlin auld an' teugh.

And blinkin Bess o' Annandale,

That dwells near Solway side, And whisky Jean that took her gill In Galloway so wide.

And auld black Joan frae Creighton peel,

O' gipsy kith an' kin,
Five wighter Carlins were na foun'
The south kintra within.

To send a lad to Lon'on town
They met upon a day,

And monie a Knight and monie a
Laird,

That errand fain would gae.

O! monie a Knight and monie a Laird,
This errand fain would gae;
But nae ane could their fancy please,
O! ne'er a ane but twae.

The first ane was a belted Knight,
Bred o' a border clan,
An' he wad gae to Lon'on town,
Might nae man him withstan':

And he wad do their errands weel,
And meikle he wad say,

And ilka ane at Lon'on court
Wad bid to him guid day.

Then neist came in a sodger youth,
And spak wi' modest grace,
An' he wad gae to Lon'on town,
If sae their pleasure was.

He wad na hecht them courtly gift,
Nor meikle speech pretend;
But he wad hecht an honest heart
Wad ne'er desert his friend.

Now wham to choose and wham refuse,

To strife thae Carlins fell;
For some had gentle folk to please,
And some wad please themsel.

Then out spak mim-mou'd Meg o' Nith,
An' she spak out wi' pride,
An' she wad send the sodger youth
Whateɣer might betide.

For the auld guidman o' Lon'on court
She didna care a pin,
But she wad send the sodger youth
To greet his eldest son.

Then up sprang Bess o' Annandale :
A deadly aith she's ta'en,
That she wad vote the border Knight,
Tho' she should vote her lane.

For far aff fowls hae feathers fair, An' fools o' change are fain: But I hae tried the border Knight, I'll try him yet again.

Says auld black Joan frae Creighton peel,

A Carlin stoor and grim, The auld guidman or young guidman, For me may sink or swim!

For fools may freit o' right and wrang, While knaves laugh them to scorn: But the sodgers' friends hae blawn the best,

Sae he shall bear the horn.

Then whisky Jean spak o'er her drink,
Ye weel ken kimmers a'

The auld guidman o' Lon'on court,
His back's been at the wa'.

And monie a friend that kiss'd his caup,
Is now a frammit wight;

But it's ne'er sae wi' whisky Jean,-
We'll send the border Knight.

Then slow raise Marjorie o' the Lochs,
And wrinkled was her brow;
Her ancient weed was russet gray,
Her auld Scots bluid was true.

There's some great folks set light by me,

I set as light by them;

But I will send to Lon'on town,

Wha I lo'e best at hame.

So how this weighty plea will end,
Nae mortal wight can tell;
God grant the King and ilka man
May look weel to himsel' !

THE DEUK'S DANG O'ER MY DADDIE.

THE bairns gat out wi' an unco shout,

The deuk's dang o'er my daddie, O! The fient ma care, quo' the feirie auld wife,

He was but a paidlin body, O! He paidles out, and he paidles in,

An' he paidles late and early, O; This seven lang years I hae lien by his side,

An' he is but a fusionless carlie, O.

O haud your tongue, my feirie auld wife,

O haud your tongue now, Nansie, O: I've seen the day, and sae hae ye,

Ye wadna been sae donsie, O; I've seen the day ye butter'd my brose, And cuddl'd me late and earlie, O; But downa do's come o'er me now, And, oh, I find it sairly, O!

THE LASS THAT MADE THE
BED TO ME.
WHEN Januar' wind was blawing cauld,
As to the north I took my way,
The mirksome night did me enfauld,
I knew na where to lodge till day.

By my good luck a maid I met,
Just in the middle o' my care;
And kindly she did me invite

To walk into a chamber fair.

I bow'd fu' low unto this maid,
And thank'd her for her courtesie;
I bow'd fu' low unto this maid,

And bade her mak a bed to me.

The bonie lass made the bed to me, The braw lass made the bed to me: I'll ne'er forget till the day I die,

The lass that made the bed to me!

THE UNION.

TUNE-'Such a parcel of rogues in a nation.'
FAREWEEL to a' our Scottish fame,
Fareweel our ancient glory!
Fareweel even to the Scottish name,
Sae fam'd in martial story!
Now Sark rins o'er the Solway sands,
And Tweed rins to the ocean,
To mark where England's province
stands;

Such a parcel of rogues in a nation.

What guile or force could not subdue,
Through many warlike ages,
Is wrought now by a coward few,
For hireling traitors' wages.
The English steel we could disdain,
Secure in valour's station,
But English gold has been our bane;
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!

O would, or had I seen the day

That treason thus could sell us, My auld grey head had lien in clay,

Wi' Bruce and loyal Wallace! But pith and power, till my last hour I'll mak this declaration, We're bought and sold for English gold : Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!

THERE WAS A BONIE LASS.

THERE was a bonie lass, and a bonie, bonie lass,

And she lo'ed her bonie laddie dear; Till war's loud alarms tore her laddie frae her arms,

Wi' monie a sigh and tear.

Over sea, over shore, where the cannons loudly roar,

He still was a stranger to fear : And nocht could him quell, or his bosom assail,

But the bonie lass he lo'ed sae dear.