 | Poems and Songs |  |
Song.
[The lav'rock that sings in the Trongate]
The lav'rock that sings in the Trongate,
A kin' body loot him awa;
But back cam' the bird to the Trongate,
A' fluttering, an' liken to fa'.
A kin' body loot him awa;
But back cam' the bird to the Trongate,
A' fluttering, an' liken to fa'.
“Noo, whare hae ye been, my braw birdie?
Sae spak' his auld mistress, sae kin';
“And 'tw'y are ye back, my braw birdie,
To fret by a winnock o' mine?”
Sae spak' his auld mistress, sae kin';
“And 'tw'y are ye back, my braw birdie,
To fret by a winnock o' mine?”
107
“Oh! I was awa at the Cathkins,
A-flirting wi' Flora hersel';
A-wading 'mang flowers on the meadows,
And drinking frae mony a clear well.
A-flirting wi' Flora hersel';
A-wading 'mang flowers on the meadows,
And drinking frae mony a clear well.
“But nocht could I hear on the Cathkins
But birds, and the souch o' a tree—
And sae I cam' back to the Trongate,
Where naebody warbles like me.”
But birds, and the souch o' a tree—
And sae I cam' back to the Trongate,
Where naebody warbles like me.”
“Oh blythe I'm to see ye, my birdie—
I had ye before ye could flee;
But he frae the Cathkins that brocht ye
Is sleeping beneath the saut sea.
I had ye before ye could flee;
But he frae the Cathkins that brocht ye
Is sleeping beneath the saut sea.
“And fain, for his sake, would I keep ye,
But freedom is dear to us a'—
Sae aff to the Cathkins, my birdie,
And mate wi' the best o' them a'.”
But freedom is dear to us a'—
Sae aff to the Cathkins, my birdie,
And mate wi' the best o' them a'.”
The birdie sprang licht to her shouther,
And happily gleamed his brown ee—
“And what lacks a birdie o' freedom,
Wha sings to a mistress like thee?
And happily gleamed his brown ee—
“And what lacks a birdie o' freedom,
Wha sings to a mistress like thee?
108
“I'll nae mair awa to the Cathkins,
Though pinkies blaw thick on ilk lea,
But sing 'mang the din o' the Trongate,
Where naebody warbles like me.”
Though pinkies blaw thick on ilk lea,
But sing 'mang the din o' the Trongate,
Where naebody warbles like me.”
| Poems and Songs | |