Alexander Buchanan was the son of a maltster at Bucklyvie,
Stirlingshire, where he was born in 1817. He attended a school in
Glasgow, but was chiefly self-taught. In his youth he composed verses,
and continued to produce respectable poetry. For a period he carried on
business as a draper in Cowcaddens, Glasgow. Retiring from merchandise,
he fixed his residence in the village of Govan. His death took place on
the 8th February 1852, in his thirty-fifth year. Buchanan has been
celebrated, with other local bards, in a small Glasgow publication,
entitled, "Lays of St Mungo." Numerous poems from his pen remain in MS.
in the possession of his widow, who continues to reside at Govan.