A Scottish Welcome

A Scottish Welcome

Original Text
Poems of John Galt: A Selection, ed.. G. H. Needler (Toronto: Burns and MacEachern, 1954): 15-16.
1And is it you, and are you come?
2Sit down, sit down in bye;
3Get up and pierce the bowie, Kate,
4This night we’ll drink it dry.
5Bid in the neebors, young and auld,
6As fast as ye can ringe,
7And mak a tanal on the loan,
8O’ a’ the biggest binge.
9Gie me your han’, my winsome frear,
10Hech, sirs, I sadly trow--
11Foy, ripe the ribs frae lug to lug,
12And pack the chumla fu’.
13Where has the glaikit Laithron flown?
14Fling on her rock an’ wheel;
15To hae this night sae bleert a spunk,
16Gude spin her to the deil!
17Come, tell’s the ferlies ye have seen;
18Och, but you’re croint an’ wan,--
19But here comes Meg, the miller’s wife,
20And that’s auld aunty Anne.
21Jock Aikin too, as douce as aye,
22He’s now a muslin weaver;
23Poor lad! his bread has sairly fail’t,
24And there’s Rab Dock the shaver.
25Come Saunders Clerk, what gars ye scog?
26Ye need tak no such fleetchings--
27His dochter Bess, a sonsy lass,
28Has dwin’t since Anoch preachings.
29Ye’ll mind auld Watty Walkinshaw--
30And that’s Tam Eccles’ sin--
31This is an oe o’Effie Grant’s,
32They ca’ her Jean M’Lean.
33Come ben, Will Ker--ye see he’s grown
34A sturdy buirdly chiel;
35He married Bell M’Kay in hairst,
36And’s doing unco weel.
37Here’s Mr Duff the elder, too,
38Sam Tod, and Mall Strathern--
39Hugh Nicholson a strapping lad,
40That ye left but a bairn.
41And there’s the Dominie, wi’s black
42Gamashins o’er his shoone;
43His hoze are aye outo’er his breeks,
44His cookit hat’s no dune.
45Be wi’ us a’, the worthy saint!
46We’ll seat him neest yoursell,--
47The very minister is come,
48Altho’ the night be snell.
49Ay, that’s the gree, my canty Kate,
50To fetch blin’ fiddler Tam;
51Cock up the bodie in the nook,
52And help about the dram.
53The weest wean the Clachan owns
54Shall keep the night in fame,
55When he that was so far awa’
56Returned to bide at hame.

Notes

2] in bye: inside. Back to Line
3] bowie: cask. Back to Line
6] ringe: hurry. Back to Line
7] tanal: bonfire.
loan: street. Back to Line
8] binge: heap. Back to Line
9] frear: friend. Back to Line
10] Hech: exclamation of surprise. Back to Line
11] Foy: faith (exclamation).
ripe the ribs frae lug to lug: clear away the grate's ashes from side to side. Back to Line
12] chumla: fireplace.
fu': full. Back to Line
13] glaikit: silly.
Laithron: lazy-bones. Back to Line
14] rock: distaff (cleft staff on which wool was wound for spinning). Back to Line
15] bleert: dim.
spunk: fire. Back to Line
16] Gude: God. deil: devil. Back to Line
17] tell's: tell us. ferlies: marvels. Back to Line
18] croint: shrunk. Back to Line
21] douce: pleasant. Back to Line
23] bread: livelihood. Back to Line
24] shaver: rascal. Back to Line
25] gars ye scog: makes you hold back. Back to Line
26] fleetchings: encouragements. Back to Line
27] sonsy: attractive. Back to Line
28] dwin't: wasted away. Back to Line
30] sin: son. Back to Line
31] oe: grandchild. Back to Line
33] ben: in. Back to Line
34] buirdly: burly.
chiel: guy. Back to Line
35] hairst: harvest. Back to Line
36] unco: very. Back to Line
42] Gamashins: gaiters.
shoone: shoes. Back to Line
43] hoze: hose.
breeks: breeches. Back to Line
46] neest: next to. Back to Line
48] snell: bitter. Back to Line
49] gree: "ticket," way.
canty: cheerful. Back to Line
50] blin': blind. Back to Line
51] Cock up: pamper, make much of. Back to Line
52] help about: pass around.
dram: liquor. Back to Line
53] weest: wee-est, smallest.
wean" child.
Clachan: town. Back to Line
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire / Sharine Leung
RPO Edition
2011
Rhyme
abcb
Form
quatrains