There’s Auld Rob Morris that wons in yon glen,He’s the King o’ gude fellows, and wale o’ auld men;He has gowd in his coffers, he has owsen and kine,And ae bonie lass, his dautie and mine. She’s fresh as the morning, the fairest in May;She’s sweet as the ev’ning amang the new hay;As blythe and […]

Tune–“Cauld Kail in Aberdeen.” O poortith cauld, and restless love,Ye wrack my peace between ye;Yet poortith a’ I could forgive,An ’twere na for my Jeanie. Chorus–O why should Fate sic pleasure have,Life’s dearest bands untwining?Or why sae sweet a flower as loveDepend on Fortune’s shining? The warld’s wealth, when I think on,It’s pride and a’ […]

[On the Duke of Brunswick’s Breaking up his Camp, and the defeat of the Austrians, by Dumourier, November 1792.] When Princes and Prelates,And hot-headed zealots,A’Europe had set in a low, a low,The poor man lies down,Nor envies a crown,And comforts himself as he dow, as he dow,And comforts himself as he dow. The black-headed eagle,As […]

Here’s a health to them that’s awa,Here’s a health to them that’s awa;And wha winna wish gude luck to our cause,May never gude luck be their fa’!It’s gude to be merry and wise,It’s gude to be honest and true;It’s gude to support Caledonia’s cause,And bide by the buff and the blue. Here’s a health to […]

Duncan Gray cam’ here to woo,Ha, ha, the wooing o’t,On blythe Yule-night when we were fou,Ha, ha, the wooing o’t,Maggie coost her head fu’ heigh,Look’d asklent and unco skeigh,Gart poor Duncan stand abeigh;Ha, ha, the wooing o’t. Duncan fleech’d and Duncan pray’d;Ha, ha, the wooing o’t,Meg was deaf as Ailsa Craig,Ha, ha, the wooing o’t:Duncan […]

Braw, braw lads on Yarrow-braes,They rove amang the blooming heather;But Yarrow braes, nor Ettrick shawsCan match the lads o’ Galla Water. But there is ane, a secret ane,Aboon them a’ I loe him better;And I’ll be his, and he’ll be mine,The bonie lad o’ Galla Water. Altho’ his daddie was nae laird,And tho’ I hae […]

Here awa, there awa, wandering Willie,Now tired with wandering, haud awa hame;Come to my bosom, my ae only dearie,And tell me thou bring’st me my Willie the same.Loud blew the cauld winter winds at our parting;It was na the blast brought the tear in my e’e:Now welcome the Simmer, and welcome my Willie,The Simmer to […]

On hearing a Thrush sing in his Morning Walk. Sing on, sweet thrush, upon the leafless bough,Sing on, sweet bird, I listen to thy strain,See aged Winter, ‘mid his surly reign,At thy blythe carol, clears his furrowed brow. So in lone Poverty’s dominion drear,Sits meek Content with light, unanxious heart;Welcomes the rapid moments, bids them […]

True hearted was he, the sad swain o’ the Yarrow,And fair are the maids on the banks of the Ayr;But by the sweet side o’ the Nith’s winding river,Are lovers as faithful, and maidens as fair:To equal young Jessie seek Scotland all over;To equal young Jessie you seek it in vain,Grace, beauty, and elegance, fetter […]

Oh, open the door, some pity to shew,Oh, open the door to me, oh,Tho’ thou hast been false, I’ll ever prove true,Oh, open the door to me, oh. Cauld is the blast upon my pale cheek,But caulder thy love for me, oh:The frost that freezes the life at my heart,Is nought to my pains frae […]

O mirk, mirk is this midnight hour,And loud the tempest’s roar;A waefu’ wanderer seeks thy tower,Lord Gregory, ope thy door.An exile frae her father’s ha’,And a’ for loving thee;At least some pity on me shaw,If love it may na be. Lord Gregory, mind’st thou not the groveBy bonie Irwine side,Where first I own’d that virgin […]

Here awa, there awa, wandering Willie,Here awa, there awa, haud awa hame;Come to my bosom, my ain only dearie,Tell me thou bring’st me my Willie the same.Winter winds blew loud and cauld at our parting,Fears for my Willie brought tears in my e’e,Welcome now the Simmer, and welcome, my Willie,The Simmer to Nature, my Willie […]

O ken ye what Meg o’ the Mill has gotten,An’ ken ye what Meg o’ the Mill has gotten?She gotten a coof wi’ a claut o’ siller,And broken the heart o’ the barley Miller. The Miller was strappin, the Miller was ruddy;A heart like a lord, and a hue like a lady;The laird was a […]

Ye true “Loyal Natives” attend to my songIn uproar and riot rejoice the night long;From Envy and Hatred your corps is exempt,But where is your shield from the darts of Contempt!

Air–“The Mill, mill, O.” When wild war’s deadly blast was blawn,And gentle peace returning,Wi’ mony a sweet babe fatherless,And mony a widow mourning;I left the lines and tented field,Where lang I’d been a lodger,My humble knapsack a’ my wealth,A poor and honest sodger. A leal, light heart was in my breast,My hand unstain’d wi’ plunder;And […]

O ken ye what Meg o’ the Mill has gotten,An’ ken ye what Meg o’ the Mill has gotten?A braw new naig wi’ the tail o’ a rottan,And that’s what Meg o’ the Mill has gotten. O ken ye what Meg o’ the Mill lo’es dearly,An’ ken ye what Meg o’ the Mill lo’es dearly?A […]

Thou greybeard, old Wisdom! may boast of thy treasures;Give me with young Folly to live;I grant thee thy calm-blooded, time-settled pleasures,But Folly has raptures to give.

Instead of a Song, boy’s, I’ll give you a Toast;Here’s to the memory of those on the twelfth that we lost!–That we lost, did I say?–nay, by Heav’n, that we found;For their fame it will last while the world goes round. The next in succession I’ll give you’s the King!Whoe’er would betray him, on high […]

Ye hypocrites! are these your pranks?To murder men and give God thanks!Desist, for shame!–proceed no further;God won’t accept your thanks for Murther!

Grant me, indulgent Heaven, that I may live,To see the miscreants feel the pains they give;Deal Freedom’s sacred treasures free as air,Till Slave and Despot be but things that were.