Tramps and Hawkers

O come a' ye tramps and hawker-lads an' gaitherers o'

bla'

That tramp the country roun' and roun', come listen one

and a'

I'll tell tae ye a rovin' tale, an' places I hae been

Far up into the snowy north, or sooth by Gretna Green.

I've seen the high Ben Nevis that gangs towerin' tae

the moon

I've been roun' by Crieff an' Callander an' by Bonny

Doon

I've been by Nethy's silvery tide an' places ill tae

ken

Far up into the stormy north lies Urquart's fairy glen

Sometimes noo I laugh tae mysel' when dodgin' alang the

road

Wi' a bag o' meal slung upon my back, my face as

broun's a toad

Wi' lumps o'cheese and tattie-scones or breid an'

braxie ham

Nae thinking whar' I'm comin' frae nor thinkin' whar

I'm gang.

I'm happy in the summer-time beneath the dark blue sky

Nae thinkin' in the mornin' at nicht where i'm gang to

lie

Bothies or byres or barns, or oot amangst the hay

And if the weather does permit, I'm happy a' the day.

Loch Katrine and Loch Lomond, they've oft been seen by

me

The Dee, the Don, the Devron, that a' flows tae the sea

Dunrobin Castle, by the way, I nearly had forgot

And the reckless stanes o'cairn that mairks the hoose

o' John

o' Groat.

I've been by bonny Gallowa', an' often roun' Stranraer

My business leads me anywhere, I travel near an' far

I've got that rovin' notion I wouldna like tae loss

For It's my daily fare an' as much'll pay my doss.

I think I'll gang tae Paddy's Lan', I'm makin' up my

mind

For Scotland's greatly altered noo, I canna raise the

wind

But if I can trust in Providence, if Providence should

prove true

I'll sing ye's a' of Erin's Isle when I come back to

you.