_Tune, "Kail Brose o' Auld Scotland."_
I've been tauld by a freen--tho' I'm laith sae tae think--
That the Auld Scottish Doric is noo on the brink
O' passin' awa' an' becomin' extinct,
The Bonnie Auld Doric o' Scotland,
The Auld Scottish Doric sae fine.
When I first saw the licht in a wee but an' ben
An' startit life's battle tae fecht amang men,
Fu' soothin' tae me was the soun' o' it then,
The Bonnie Auld Doric o' Scotland,
The Auld Scottish Doric sae fine.
The days o' my boyhood sair trouble did bring
(Time always carries it under his wing),
Tae ease me o' pain my mither wad sing
In the Bonnie Auld Doric o' Scotland,
The Auld Scottish Doric sae fine.
Weel rowed in a plaidie, an' beilt frae the wun',
I coortit a lassie sae winsome an' young,
I whispered my love in the auld mither tongue--
The Bonnie Auld Doric o' Scotland,
The Auld Scottish Doric sae fine.
Where'er I may roam on the land or the sea
Oor Doric will aye be the sweetest tae me;
It cheers the lane hert and it lichts the sad e'e,
The Bonnie Auld Doric o' Scotland,
The Auld Scottish Doric sae fine.
It's nonsense tae say that the Doric maun gang,
For Rabbie has made it immortal in sang.
Sae noo, my auld freen, jist admit ye are wrang
'Boot the Bonnie Auld Doric o' Scotland,
The Auld Scottish Doric sae fine.