KIRK OF SCOTLAND'S ALARM Muirland Jock! muirland Jock, when the L-d makes a rock, To crush common-sense for her sins;1 If ill-manners were wit, there's no mortal so fit To confound the poor Doctor at ance,2 Muirland Jock! To confound the poor Doctor at ance. Andro Gowk! Andro Gowk, ye may slander the Book, Andro Gowk ! Ye'll hae a calf's head o'sma' value. Daddy Auld! daddy Auld, there's a tod in the fauld, Tho' ye do little skaith, ye'll be in at the death, Daddy Auld! Gif ye canna bite, ye may bark. Holy Will! holy Will, there was wit in your skull, The timmer is scant when ye're taen for a saunt, Poet Burns! poet Burns, wi' your priest-skelpin turns, Your muse is a gipsy, yet were she e'en tipsy, Poet Burns! She could ca' us nae waur than we are. PRESENTATION STANZAS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Factor John! Factor John, whom the L-d made alone, EXTEMPORANEOUS EFFUSION Thy poor servant, the Bard, in respectful regard, Factor John! He presents thee this token sincere. Afton's Laird! Afton's Laird, when your pen can be spared, A copy of this I bequeath, On the same sicker score as I mention'd before, To that trusty auld worthy, Clackleith, Afton's Laird! To that trusty auld worthy, Clackleith. Sonnet on receiving a favour.1 10 Aug., 1789. Addressed to ROBERT GRAHAM, Esq. of Fintry. Extemporaneous Effusion On being appointed to an Excise division.2 Ochon the day! That clarty barm should stain my laurels : These movin' things ca'd wives an' weans, "The "sonnet" has fourteen lines, but no other trace of a sonnet's structure. 2 The occasion is the same. WILLIE BREW'D A PECK O' MAUT Song.-Willie brew'd a peck o' maut.1 O WILLIE brew'd a peck o' maut, Chorus. We are na fou, we're nae that fou, The cock may craw, the day may daw Here are we met, three merry boys, It is the moon, I ken her horn, Wha first shall rise to gang awa, 1 Willie is Nicol, Allan is Masterton the writing master. The scene is between Moffat and the head of the Loch of the Lowes. Date AugustSeptember 1789. So in Johnson's copy; altered to "last" in most editions. The poet does write "last" (underlined) when quoting two verses in a letter to Captain Riddell (Oct. 16, 1789), but there is a good reason for this, and Johnson's text may be correct enough. CA' THE YOWES TO THE KNOWES Ca' the Yowes to the Knowes.1 Chorus.-Ca' the yowes to the knowes,b As I gaed down the water-side, Will ye gang down the water-side, Ye sall get gowns and ribbons meet, If ye'll but stand to what ye've said, While waters wimple to the sea, Ca' the yowes, &c. It is easy enough to detect Burns's stanzas in this pastiche. HIGHLAND HARRY BACK AGAIN I Gaed a Waefu' Gate Yestreen.1 I GAED a waefu' gate yestreen, She talk'd, she smil'd, my heart she wyl'd; ⚫ road. Highland Harry back again.2 My Harry was a gallant gay, Chorus.-O for him back again! I wad gie a' Knockhaspie's land 1 The lady is a Miss Jeanie Jaffray, daughter of the Minister of Lochmaben. 2 The oldest title I ever heard to this air was, "The Highland Watch's • death. d strode. Farewell to Ireland." The chorus 1 picked up from an old woman in Dunblane; the rest of the song is mine.— R. B., Glenriddell notes. |