Adieu to the courtie of London town, Where a' the braw lasses, wha ken me weel, I will quickly lay down my sword and my gun, I'll buy a rich garment to gi'e to my dear, A ribbon o' green for Maggie to wear; And mony thing brawer than that, I declare, Gin she will gang wi' me to Paisley fair. Gin Maggie should chance to bring me a son, Then fare ye weel, citizens, noisy men, And nae langer will live in hurry and strife; I'll aff to the Highlands as hard's I can reel, And whang at the bannocks o' barley meal. This song is generally attributed to the celebrated Duke of Argyll, but the statement does not appear to rest on sufficient authority. There is no doubt, however, that it was written of, if not by him. GIN YE MEET A BONNIE LASSIE. ALLAN RAMSAY. Air-"Fie, gar rub her ower wi' strae." GIN ye meet a bonnie lassie, But if ye meet a dirty hizzie, Be sure ye dinna quit the grip Of ilka joy when ye are young, And lay ye twa-fauld ower a rung. Sweet youth's a blythe and heartsome time: Before it wither and decay. When Jenny speaks below her breath, And kisses, layin' a' the wyte Haith, ye're ill-bred, she'll smilin' say, Now to her heavin' bosom cling, These benisons, I'm very sure, Are of kind heaven's indulgent grant; To plague us wi' your whinin' cant! From the "Tea-Table Miscellany," 1724. "Connected with this song," says Chambers, "which few readers will need to be informed is a paraphrase, and a very happy one, of the celebrated 'Vides ut alta' of Horace, the following anecdote may be told. In a large mixed company, which had assembled one night in the house of a citizen of Edinburgh, where Robert Burns happened to be present, somebody sung 'Gin ye meet a bonnie lassie,' with excellent effect, insomuch as to throw all present into a sort of rapture. The only exception lay with a stiff pedantic old schoolmaster, who, in all the consciousness of superior critical acumen, and determined to be pleased with nothing which was not strictly classical, sat erect in his chair, with a countenance full of disdain, and rigidly abstained from expressing the slightest symptom of satisfaction. 'What ails you at the sang, Mr. ?' inquired an honest citizen of the name of Boag, who had been particularly delighted with it. 'Oh, nothing!' answered the man of learning; only the whole of it is stolen from Horace.' 'Houts, man!' replied Boag, 'Horace has rather stolen from the auld sang.' This ludicrous observation was met with absolute shouts of laughter, the whole of which was at the expense of the discomfited critic; and Burns was pleased to express his hearty thanks to the citizen for having set the matter to rights. He seems, from a passage in Cromek's 'Relics,' to have made use of the observation as his own." MY JO JANET. From the "Tea-Table Miscellany." Air-"The keekin' glass," or "My jo Janet." SWEET sir, for your courtesie, When ye come by the Bass, then, For the love ye bear to me, Buy me a keekin' glass, then. There ye'll see your bonnie sel', Keekin' in the draw-well clear, What if I fa' in, sir? Then a' my kin' will say and swear Haud the better by the brae, AULD ROB MORRIS. Air-" Jock's the laird's brither." MOTHER. AULD Rob Morris, that wons in yon glen, He's the king o' guid fallows, and wale o' auld men ; DAUGHTER. Haud your tongue, mother, and let that abee; MOTHER. Haud your tongue, dochter, and lay by your pride, DAUGHTER. Auld Rob Morris, I ken him fu' weel, He's out-shinn'd, in-knee'd, and ringle-eyed too; MOTHER. Though auld Rob Morris be an elderly man, DAUGHTER. But auld Rob Morris I never will hae, His back is so stiff and his beard is grown gray; I had rather die than live wi' him a year, Sae mair o' Rob Morris I never will hear. This song appears in the "Tea-Table Miscellany" with the signature of Q. Burns has written a love song with the same title, in which he has preserved the first two lines, and some other portions of the above. |