WEARY FA' YOU, DUNCAN GRAY.

Tune-" Duncan Gray."

I.

WEARY fa' you, Duncan Gray-
Ha, ha, the girdin o't!

Wae gae by you, Duncan Gray-
Ha, ha, the girdin o't!

When a' the lave gae to their play,
Then I maun sit the lee lang day,
And jog the cradle wi' my tae,
And a' for the girdin o't.

II.

Bonnie was the Lammas moon-
Ha, ha, the girdin o't!
Glowrin' a' the hills aboon-

Ha, ha, the girdin o't!

The girdin brak, the beast cam down,
I tint my curch, and baith my shoon;
Ah! Duncan, ye're an unco loon-
Wae on the bad girdin o't!

III.

But, Duncan, gin ye'll keep your aith—
Ha, ha, the girdin o't!

Ise bless you wi' my hindmost breath-
Ha, ha, the girdin o't!

Duncan, gin ye'll keep your aith,

The beast again can bear us baith,

And auld Mess John will mend the skaith,
And clout the bad girdin o't.

The elder "Duncan Gray," out of which the present song was manufactured by Burns, had no right to be called "a lad o' grace;" for he was rash, outspoken, and unceremonious. The air had a plebeian origin, and the words a touch of the tarred finger. The former was composed by a Glasgow carman, from whose whistling it was noted down. It matters little now who wrote the words, for they have been silenced by the songs of Burns, and may be considered as extinct. The Poet says :— "Duncan Gray is that kind of light horse-gallop of an air which precludes sentiment. The ludicrous is its ruling feature." This song appeared in the Musical Museum; a second version was afterwards written for Thomson.

THE PLOUGHMAN.

Tune-Up wi' the Ploughman."

I.

THE ploughman he's a bonnie lad,
His mind is ever true, jo ;
His garters knit below his knee,
His bonnet it is blue, jo.

Then up wi' my ploughman lad,
And hey my merry ploughman !
Of a' the trades that I do ken,
Commend me to the ploughman.

II.

My ploughman he comes hame at e'en,

He's aften wat and weary;

Cast off the wat, put on the dry,
And gae to bed, my dearie!

III.

I will wash my ploughman's hose,
And I will dress his o'erlay ;

I will mak my ploughman's bed,
And cheer him late and early.

IV.

I hae been east, I hae been west,

I hae been at Saint Johnston;
The bonniest sight that e'er I saw
Was the ploughman laddie dancin'.

V.

Snaw-white stockins on his legs,
And siller buckles glancin';

A gude blue bonnet on his head—
And O, but he was handsome!

VI.

Commend me to the barn-yard,

And the corn-mou, man;

I never gat my coggie fou,
Till I met wi' the ploughman.

Up wi' my ploughman lad,

And hey my merry ploughman!
Of a' the trades that I do ken,

Commend me to the ploughman.

It has been said that the last verse of "The Plough. man" should be omitted in future, as it has a double meaning, and hurts the sentiment of an otherwise unexceptionable song. The editor, though intimate with northern songs of all complexions and characters, is

unable to perceive this imputed meaning: the verse is in keeping with the others; a well-spread table is the natural consequence of a young woman's uniting herself to a sober and industrious ploughman. The old words are in Herd's collection; some of them have been adopted by Burns:

"The ploughman he's a bonnie lad,

And a' his wark's at leisure;

And when that he comes home at e'en
He kisses me wi' pleasure.

"I will wash my ploughman's hose,
And I will wash his o'erlay;

And I will make my ploughman's bed,
And cheer him late and early.

"Plough yon hill, and plough yon dale,
And plough yon faugh and fallow;

Wha winna drink the ploughman's health
He's but a dirty fallow."

Other verses might be added, but these may be thought

sufficient.