THE JOHN MacLEAN MARCH
Hamish Henderson

                                        Hey Mac, did ye see him as ye cam' doon by Gorgie,
                                        Awa up ower the Lammarlaw or north o' the Tay?
                                        Yon man is comin', and the haill toon is turnin' oot,
                                        We're a' shair he'll win back tae Glesgie the day,
                                        Jiners and hauders-on are marchin, frae Clydebank;
                                        Come on noo an' hear him - he'll be ower thrang tae byde.
                                        Turn oot, Jock and Jimmy : leave yer crans and yer muckle gantries.
                                        Great John MacLean's comin, back tae the Clyde.
                                        The Great John MacLean's comin' back tae the Clyde. 

                                        Argyle Street and London Road's the route that we're marchin'
                                        The lads frae the Broomielaw are here - tae a man!
                                        Hi Neil, whaur's your hadarums, ye big Hielan teuchter?
                                        Get yer pipes, mate, an' march at the heid o' the clan.
                                        Hello Pat Malone: sure I knew ye'd be here so:
                                        The red and the green, lad, we'll wear side by side.
                                        Gorbals is his the day, and Glesgie belangs tae him.
                                        Ay, Great John MacLean's comin' hame tae the Clyde.
                                        Great John MacLean's comin' hame tae the Clyde. 

                                        Forward tae Glesgie Green we'll march in guid order:
                                        Wull grips his banner weel ( that boy isna blate ).
                                        Ay there, man, that's Johnnie noo - that's him there, the bonnie fechter.
                                        Lenin's his fiere, lad, an' Liebknecht's his mate.
                                        Tak tent when he's speakin', for they'll mind whit he said here
                                        In Glesgie, oor city - an the haill warld beside.
                                        Och hey, lad, the scarlet's bonnie : here's tae ye, Hieland Shony!
                                        Oor John MacLean has come hame tae the Clyde.
                                        Oor John MacLean has come hame tae the Clyde. 

                                        Aweel, when it's feenished, I'm awa back tae Springburn.
                                        Come hame tae yer tea, John, we'll sune hae ye fed.
                                        It's hard work the speakin'; och, I'm shair he'll be tired the nicht.
                                        I'll sleep on the flair, Mac, and gie John the bed.
                                        The haill city's quiet noo: it kens that he's restin'
                                        At hame wi' his Glesgie freens, their fame and their pride!
                                        The red will be worn my lads, an' Scotland will march again.
                                        Noo Great John MacLean has come hame tae the Clyde.
                                        Great John MacLean has come hame tae the Clyde. 

Footnote: As a further tribute to the late Hamish Henderson, we print his famous song on yet another great Scot - John MacLean. The song was specially written for and sung at the John MacLean Memorial Meeting in St Andrew's Hall in Glasgow, 1948, at the twenty-fifth commemoration of the death of John MacLean. The song very much heralded the Scottish Folk Revival in which Dr Hamish Henderson played a major role.