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A poem published
in 1955 by William Dixon Cocker (1882-1970);
but here slightly adapted by John in order to be sung to the
midi tune, 'Washington Square'.
['Allan' and 'Jess' were well known to Cocker during his infant
days in Drymen in the late 1880s.]
Glossary:-
bein-lik=well-to-do ; croose=lively; cottar=farmer;
biggin=dwelling; brae=steep hill; aye=always; weel kent=well
known;
fite=white; wa=wall; trig=tidy; sicht=sight; kep=kept; coo=cow;
twa=two; forby=as well as; skep=hive; canty=cheery; auld=old;
wale o' men=best of men; clair=clear; come ben=come on inside;
rowth=plent; wark=work; thrang=busy; crack=chat; nane=none;
wi'oot=without; hoose=house; noo=now; thristles=thistles;
growe=grow; whaur=where; afore=before; lowes=glows;
cauld=cold; ayont=beyond; ye=you.
Short Musical Introduction
Auld Allan an' his gude-wife Jess
Were bein-lik fowk an' croose;
Their cottar's biggin' upoan the brae
Wis aye a weel-kent wee hoose.
Its fite-washed wa's, sae clean an trig,
Wur aye a sicht tae please.
They kep a coo an' twa-three hens,
Forby some skeps o' bees.
Auld Jess, sae canty an' aye sae kind,
Auld Allan, wale o' men,
I seem tae hear their clair voices yet --
"Ye're welcome , lad, come ben!"
Wi' rowth o' wark tae kep them thrang,
They aye hid time tae crack,
An' nane wid iver leave their door
Wi'oot a "Hasten ye back!"
Their cottar's hoose is roofless noo,
Wi' dockens at the door.
The nettles an' the thristles growe
Whaur roses grew afore.
An' nae fire lowes doon oan that cauld hearth;
But this I surely ken,
Ayont this sphere some fine day I'll hear --
"Ye're welcome, lad, come ben!"
"Ye're welcome, lad, come ben!"
"Ye're welcome, lad, come ... come ben!"
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Transcribed and adapted from Page 71 of WD Cocker's
"Random Rhymes and Ballads",
Brown, Son & Ferguson Ltd., Glasgow - 1955.
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