Songs of Angus and More Songs of Angus | Page 7

i' the rain.
My mither stirs as she wauks wi' her twa een blinkin',?Bedded she'll bide,?For foo can an auld wife ken what a lassie's thinkin'?Close at her side??Mither, lie still, for ye're needin' a rest fu' sairly,?Weary an' worn,?Mither, I'll rise, an' ye ken I'll be warkin' fairly--?An' I dinna ken wha can be whustlin', whustlin', aerly,?Lang or it's morn!
Gin ye hear a sound like the sneck o' the backdoor turnin', Fash na for it;?It's just the crack i' the lum o' the green wood burnin',?Ill to be lit;?Gin ye hear a step, it's the auld mear loose i' the stable?Stampin' the strae,?Or mysel' that's settin' the parritch-spunes on the table,?Sae turn ye aboot an' sleep, mither, sleep while ye're able, Rest while ye may.
Up at the steadin' the trail o' the mist has liftit?Clear frae the grund,?Mither breathes saft an' her face to the wa' she's shiftit-- Aye, but she's sound!?Lad, ye may come, for there's nane but mysel' will hear ye?Oot by the stair,?But whustle you on an' I winna hae need to fear ye,?For, laddie, the lips that keep whustlin', whustlin' cheery Canna dae mair!
HOGMANAY
(TO A PIPE TUNE)
O, it's fine when the New and the Auld Year meet,?An' the lads gang roarin' i' the lichtit street,?An' there's me and there's Alick an' the miller's loon,?An' Geordie that's the piper oot o' Forfar toon.
Geordie Faa! Geordie Faa!?Up wi' the chanter, lad, an' gie's a blaw!?For we'll step to the tune while we've feet in till oor shune, Tho' the bailies an' the provost be to sort us a'!
We've three bonnie bottles, but the third ane's toom,?Gin' the road ran whisky, it's mysel' wad soom!?But we'll stan' while we can, an' be dancin' while we may,?For there's twa we hae to finish, an' it's Hogmanay.
Geordie Faa! Geordie Faa!?There's an auld carle glow'rin' oot ahint yon wa',?But we'll sune gar him loup to the pipin' till he coup,?For we'll gi'e him just a drappie, an' he'll no say na!
My heid's dementit an' my feet's the same,?When they'll no wark thegither it's a lang road hame;?An' we've twa mile to traivel or it's mair like three,?But I've got a grip o' Alick, an' ye'd best grip me.
Geordie Faa! Geordie Faa!?The morn's near brakin' an' we'll need awa',?Gin ye're aye blawin' strang, then we'll maybe get alang,?An' the deevil tak' the laddie that's the first to fa'!
CRAIGO WOODS
Craigo Woods, wi' the splash o' the cauld rain beatin'?I' the back end o' the year,?When the clouds hang laigh wi' the weicht o' their load o' greetin' And the autumn wind's asteer;?Ye may stand like gaists, ye may fa' i' the blast that's cleft ye To rot i' the chilly dew,?But when will I mind on aucht since the day I left ye?Like I mind on you--on you?
Craigo Woods, i' the licht o' September sleepin'?And the saft mist o' the morn,?When the hairst climbs to yer feet, an' the sound o' reapin' Comes up frae the stookit corn,?And the braw reid puddock-stules are like jewels blinkin'?And the bramble happs ye baith,?O what do I see, i' the lang nicht, lyin' an' thinkin'?As I see yer wraith--yer wraith?
There's a road to a far-aff land, an' the land is yonder?Whaur a' men's hopes are set;?We dinna ken foo lang we maun hae to wander,?But we'll a' win to it yet;?An' gin there's woods o' fir an' the licht atween them,?I winna speir its name,?But I'll lay me doon by the puddock-stules when I've seen them, An' I'll cry "I'm hame--I'm hame!"
THE WILD GEESE
"O tell me what was on yer road, ye roarin' norlan' Wind,?As ye cam' blawin' frae the land that's niver frae my mind? My feet they traivel England, but I'm dee'in for the north." "My man, I heard the siller tides rin up the Firth o' Forth."
"Aye, Wind, I ken them weel eneuch, and fine they fa' an' rise, And fain I'd feel the creepin' mist on yonder shore that lies, But tell me, ere ye passed them by, what saw ye on the way?" "My man, I rocked the rovin' gulls that sail abune the Tay."
"But saw ye naething, leein' Wind, afore ye cam' to Fife??There's muckle lyin' 'yont the Tay that's mair to me nor life." "My man, I swept the Angus braes ye hae'na trod for years." "O Wind, forgi'e a hameless loon that canna see for tears!"
"And far abune the Angus straths I saw the wild geese flee, A lang, lang skein o' beatin' wings, wi' their heids towards the sea, And aye their cryin' voices trailed ahint them on the air--" "O Wind, hae maircy, haud yer whisht, for I daurna listen mair!"
GLOSSARY
Airt, point (of compass).?Billies, cronies.?Braws, finery.?Bubbly-jock, turkey-cock.?Cankered, cross-grained.?Causey, paved edge of a street.?Chanter, mouth-piece of a bag-pipe.?Clour, a blow.?Coup, to fall.?Deaved, deafened, bewildered.?Droukit, soaked.?Dunt, a blow.?Fit, foot.?Fleggit,