Classic Poem

As I gaed in by the Duke o' Athole's gates,
I heard his yule-nurse singin';
And aye as she sang and her bonnie voice rang,
Till hills and dales were ringin'.

Oh, I am the bonnie Duke o' Athole's nurse,
And the post it does weel become me;
But I wad gie a' my half-year's fee
For a kiss and a sicht o' my Johnnie.

He leant him inowre his saddle bow,
And he has gien her kisses mony;
Says, Keep weel, keep weel your half-year's fee,
Ye'll get twa sichts o' your Johnnie.

But ye hae my heart and another has my hand,
And what can I do wi' ye?
Gin I hae your heart and another has your hand,
What the better will I be o' ye?

But ye'll go down to yonder alehouse,
And drink or the day be a-dawnin',
And spare nae the beer tho' it be dear,
And the wine keep constantly drawin';
And gin I be a woman, as surely as I am,
I will come and clear ye o' your lawin'.

Her seven brothers were standin' nearby,
And they heard them thus talkin',
And they hae said among themselves—
We'll go and clear his lawin'.

So he went down to yonder alehouse,
And drank till the day was a-dawnin';
And he spared nae the beer tho' it was dear,
And the wine he kept constantly drawin'.

But he lookit over the castle-wa',
To see gin the day was a-dawnin',
And there he spied seven weel-armed men,
They were comin' wi' their swords weel drawn.

O landlady, O landlady, what shall I do?
For my life it is nae worth a farthin';
For here they come seven weel-armed men;
I'll be dead or the day be a-dawnin'.

But she's casten off her petticoat,
Likewise her goon and her apron;
And she has gien him the mutch frae her heid,
And she set the young squ[i]re to the bakin'.

Oh, when they came up to the gates,
Sae loudly as they rappit;
And when they came up to the door,
Sae loudly as they chappit.

Oh, cam' there a stranger here last nicht,
To drink or the day was a-dawnin'?
Come, show us the room that the stranger is in,
For we're come to clear his lawin'.

Oh, there cam' a stranger here last nicht,
But he went ere the day was a-dawnin',
For he bocht but a pint, and he paid it ere he went,
So he didna leave ony lawin'.

But they socht him up and they socht him doon,
And they spared nae the feather beds a-turnin',
And aye as they gaed but, and aye as they gaed ben,
They said, Bonnie lassie, are ye bakin'?

They socht him up and they socht him doon,
And spared nae the curtains a-rivin',
And aye as the auld wife gaed but and ben,
She scolded her maid at the bakin';
And she said, I have had mony a maid,
But the marrows o' you I ne'er had bakin'.

They socht him up and they socht him doon,
Thro' kitchie and ha' a-rakin',
But for a' that they ca'd, and for a' that they socht,
They left the young squ[i]re busy bakin'.