Scottish Poetry Selection
- Come Lads and Come Lassies
This poem by Charles Nicol recalls the days when many thousands of people left the grime and hard work of industrial Glasgow and went by steamer or train "doon the watter" of the river Clyde to the coastal resorts of Ayrshire and Argyllshire. Sometimes it was just for a day or a weekend, sometimes for the two weeks of the "Fair Fortnight".
Come Lads and Come Lassies
Come lads an' come lassies, come ane an' come a',
The boat it lies ready at aul' Broomielaw;
Come noo get yer tickets an' let's be away,
For we a' mean to spend a richt happy day.An' when we arrive doon at Campbeltown's shore,
We'll meet wi' oor callants that's there by the score;
An' oh, sic gran' fun as we then a' will hae,
Sae noo lads an' lassies let's hie an' away.We'll dance and we'll sing maist the hale o' the day.
Ilk lassie an' lad, while the piper will play;
An' them that likes best, they a-fishing can gang,
Syne pass aff the day wi' a jest an' a sang.Sae let us be aff while the sun noo is rising
And we'll be there lads in time maist surprising;
An' oh, sic gran' fun as we then a' will hae,
Alang wi' oor callants this bright simmer day.The thocht o't brings back oor young days again,
An' the trips that we then used tae hae by the train;
Sae noo for the sake o' aul' times let us spend,
A richt rollicking day at oor journey's end.Then come lads an' lassies, come ane an' come a',
The boat it lies ready at aul' Broomielaw;
Noo come get yer tickets an' let's be away,
For we a' mean tae spend a richt happy day.Meaning of unusual words:
come ane an' come a' = come one and come all
aul' Broomielaw = old Broomielaw (the central Glasgow docks)
callants = lads
sic =such
Ilk lassie = every girl
Syne = then, thereafter
Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
