Web Links on this page will bring up RealAudio pages. 
A Taste of the Scots Language from the 13th Century to Present Day

Seein hou monie there wis o them, he spealed the brae, an whan he hed sitten doun, an his disciples hed gethert about him, he set tae the teachin, an this is what he said tae them:

            "Hou happie the puir at is hummle afore God,
                for theirs is the Kingdom o heiven !
            Hou happie the dowff an dowie,
                for they will be comfotit !
            Hou happie the douce an cannie,
                for they will faa the yird !
            Hou happie them at yaups an thrists for richteousness,
                for they will get their sairin !
            Hou happie the mercifu,
                for they will win mercie !
            Hou happie the clean o hairt,
                for they will see God !
            Hou happie the redders o strow an strife,
                for they will be caa'd the childer o God !
            Hou happie them at hes dree'd misgydin for richteousness' sake,
                for their's is the Kingdom o Heiven !

Hou happie ye, whan they tash an misgyde ye an say aathing ill o ye, liein on ye, for my sake ! Blythe be ye an mirkie, for gryt is the rewaird bidin ye in heiven; it wis een sae they misgydit the Prophets afore ye.

"Ye ar the saut o the warld. But gin the saut gaes saurless, what will gie it back its tang? There is nocht adae wi it mair but cast it outbye for fowk tae patter wi their feet.

"Ye ar the licht o the warld. A toun biggit on a hill-tap canna be hoddit; an again, whan fowk licht a lamp, they pit-it-na- ablo a meal-bassie, but set it up on the dresser-heid, an syne it gies licht for aabodie i the houss. See at your licht shines that gate afore the warld, sae at aabodie may see your guid deeds an ruise your Faither in heiven !

                frae 'The New Testament in Scots' - William L Lorimer. This extract is from St Matthews, chapter 5, verses 1 to 16. Lorimer's translation of the New Testment, from the original Greek, intil Scots was published in 1983. I read  this passage at my mother's funeral.

"I am judging," said Mr Plumdamas, "that this reprieve wadna stand gude in the auld Scots law, when the kingdom was a kingdom."

 

"I dinna ken muckle about the law,"answered Mrs Howden ; "but I ken, when we had a king, and a chancellor, and parliament-men o' our ain, we could aye peeble them wi' stanes when they werena gude bairns - but naebody's nails can reach the length of Lunnon."

 

                    frae 'The Heart of Midlothian' - Sir Walter Scott

Of a' the games that e'er I saw,
Man, callant, laddie, birkie, wean,
The dearest, far aboon them a',
Was aye the witching channel stane.
Oh! for the channel-stane!
The fell good name the channel-stane!
There's no a game that e'er I saw,
Can match auld Scotland's channel-stane. 
frae 'The Channel Stane' ( The Curling Stone ) - James Hogg ( 1770 - 1835 )

All creature on the Lord dependis
Their sustennace for to ressave of Thee
Their meit and drink in tyme to them Thou sendis
Thou opinnis furth thy hand full graciously
And satisfyis all flesh aboundantlie
Blis us gude Lord into thir giftis gude
Quhilk Thou has given to us to be our fude. 
- A Scots Grace Afore Meit - frae the 16th centurie

The festival'll sune be awa' again and there'll be a wheen determined to murder some o' my plays nae doot - but there's nae guid o' me bein' angry wi' them for the puir sowls dae their best. (There's naebody does bad if they ken hoo tae dae guid - and that I think, gets to the core o' the hale thing - damned ignorance). But nae doot some o' them'll blame my plays, and in some cases they'll be justified. But what does it maitter. A hunner year efter this there'll be nane o' us here. Of coorse there's aye the chance that Auld Nick rins a dramatic club - a body never kens. If he does I'll ask to get to Heaven oot o' their road.

                    frae a letter by the poet and playright Joe Corrie to his friend J Archibald Henderson, the producer/director of the Shotts Miners' Welfare drama Group written on 25th November 1949.

A' ye wha live by sowps o' drink,
A' ye wha live by crambo-clink,
A' ye wha live and never think
Come mourn wi' me
Our billie's gien us a' a jink,
An' owre the Sea.

Lament him a' ye rantan core,
Wha dearly like a random-splore;
Nae mair he'll join the merry roar,
In social key;
For now he's taen anither shore,
An' owre the Sea. 

frae 'On A Scotch Bard Gone To The West Indies' - Robert Burns

Jean : You're no' gaun to be much better if you've to go back to the pit on the maister's terms. It's been a hard time, richt enough, and mony a nicht I hae lain doon wonderin' where oor breakfast was to come frae, but, Jock, it's nae mair he'rt-rendin' than watchin' thae wheels turnin' every day, and never lookin' oot the windie but dreadin' to see some o' ye cairrit hame a corpse or maimed for life. There are plenty o' women never bother their heids, they have seen that much and come through that much, that they have got hardened to it.But I havena reached that stage yet, na, thae wheels are ay between me and the sun, throwin' their lang, black shadows on the doorstep. It's mebbe been a time o' want since the strike started, but its been a time o' peace; I was ay sure o' you and Bob comin' hame at nichts; but there's nae such faith when the wheels are turnin'.

                frae 'In Time o' Strife - Joe Corrie. In this extract Jean Smith, wife of a striking miner, gives voice to her thoughts at the ending of the strike. The three-act play was written after the 1926 Miners' Strike but it was rejected by the Scottish National Players' Play Reading Panel. Joe Corrie and the Bowhill Players in 1928 performed the play to over twenty-five Fife mining villages and the next year toured it all over Scotland to sell-out crowds.

When first I saw wee Maggie's face
Richt heid ower heels in love I tumbled,
And thoucht the while she smiled on me
The Angels oot o' heaven were humbled.

When next we met 'twas early morn,
Her teeth were oot, her hair was shaggy;
She tried to smile, but oh! - Said I,
'Is't you, or is't your mither, Maggie?' 

   'Wee Maggie' - Joe Corrie

                        He hes tane Roull of Aberdene,
                        And gentle Roull of Corstorphyne ;
                        Twa bettir fallowis did no man sie :
                            Timor Mortis conturbat me. 

                        In Dumfermelyne he hes done roune
                        With Maister Robert Henrisoun ;
                        Schir John the Ross embrast hes he :
                            Timor Mortis conturbat me.

                            frae 'Lament For The Makaris' - William Dunbar

Here lie Willie Michie's banes,
O Satan, when ye tak him,
Gie him the schulin of your weans;
For clever Deils he'll mak 'em!
Epitaph 'On a Schoolmaster in Cleish Parish, Fifeshire' - Robert Burns

This is nocht the daith of Wallace, Edward,
            Nor yet the end of Scotland, in your
            Menteith-peace, or desert-conquest either,
            But the birth-thraws of its glorie and its
            Triumph. Scotland has wan, my Lord, and you,
            Nane either, gied us victorie.....
            Through this lang war, echt year o' fire and sword
            And famine, greit and bluid and daith,
            Ye've made a nation, sir. Hammer
            O' the Scots indeed ! By the Rood,
            Ye're richter nor ye ken. Ye've hammerit
            A nation intil life, ennobled it,
            And held it up like a banner til aa men
            For evermair - a standart o' the pride
            And independence of a folk whase sperit's
            Free and winna bou til thirldom ever -
            No for land or treisure, consequence
            Or pouer, but but for ae thing that, wanting,
            Leas life wersh and thowless, dozent,
            Meaningless ; but, possess't, let man stand           
            Upricht in the likeness of his God
            That made him sae : Freedom ! Ay, thirldom
            Is the soul in chains - e'en in the mid o' plentie,
            As libertie is the soul at lairge - though
            It be in pourtith and defeat. This we hae wan.
            For aa this, Edward, I, in the name o' Scotland,
            First o' the nations, thank ye, for your gift
            Til aa humanitie. You should be vauntie,
            Sir ! Put aff yon dowie look ! Your
            Immortalitie is in sauf keep, just
            As ye said, SCOTORUM MALLEUS  

                Frae 'The Wallace' , a play by Sydney Goodsir Smith. In memory of the 697th anniversary of the murder of William Wallace, this extract is from Wallace's speech from the dock, Westminster Hall, London, England, 1305. 

Upo' the tap o' ilka lum
The sun began to keek,
And bid the trig-made maidens come
A sightly joe to seek;
At Hallow fair, whare browsters rare
Keep gude ale on the gantries,
And dinna scrimp ye o a skair
O' kebbucks frae their pantries
Fu' saut that day. 
frae 'Hallow-Fair' - Robert Fergusson

We may say in veritate, that there is na land, nor yit nacion that is nor was from the begyinning of the warld, that standis in fredome sa lang tyme as Scotland.

                   - frae an anonoymous chronicle of about 1460

Thar are mony folk, wha hae spoken English a' their grown-up days wha like to gang back to the tongue o' their bairnhood, i' the mirk and shadows o' auld age. Thar are ithers wha seem tae tak better to the Word whan it comes to them wi' a wee o' the Scottish birr. And thar are a hantle o' folk - and I meet them a'gate - wha dinna speak Scots theirsels, but are keen to hear it, and like to read it.

And thar is anither consideration - the Scots tongue is no gettin extendit, and some folk think it may be tint a'thegither 'or lang. And God's Word is for a' men ; and ony lawfu' means ane can use to get folk to read it, and tak tent til't, is richt and proper. For a' thae reasons, and ithers I could bring forrit, I hae putten the New Testament intil Braid Scots. Lat nae man think it is a vulgar tongue - a mere gibberish to be dune wi' as sune as ane is bye the schule-time. It is an ancient and honourable tongue; wi' rutes deep i' the yird ; aulder than muckle o' the English. It cam doon till us throwe oor Gothic and Pictish forebears ; it was heard on the battle-field wi' Bruce ; it waftit the triumphant prayers and sangs o' the Martyrs intil Heeven ; it dirl't on the tongue o' John Knox, denouncin wrang ; it sweeten't a' the heevenlie letters o' Samu'l Rutherford ; and aneath the theek o' mony a muirland cottage it e'en noo carries thanks to Heeven, and brings the blessins doon !

And I haena putten pen o paper unbidden. A wheen screeds o' the Word dune intil Scots I had at times putten afore the public een ; and folk wad write me, "Hae ye ony mair o't ?" till I begude to think that aiblins Providence had gien me the Scots blude and the Scots tongue, wi' the American edication, for the vera reason that - haein baith lang'ages - I soud recommend the Word in Scots ; and juist Scots eneuch not to be unfathomable to the ordinar English reader.

Whiles thar has been a chance o' makin the meanin plainer ; whiles a Scots phrase o' unco tenderness or wondrous pith coud come in. And at a' times, ahint the pen that was movin, was a puir but leal Scots heart, fu' o' prayer that this sma' effort micht be acceptit o' the dear Maister - and survivin a' the misca'in o' the pernickity and the fashionable - micht bring the memory o' a worthy tongue, and the better knowledge o' a Blessed Saviour, to this ane and that ane, as they micht chance to read it.

                - The Preface to ' The Four Gospels in Braid Scots ' - William A Smith (1901). Born in Jedburgh in 1827, Smith was taken by his parents to the USA in 1830 and then to Canada in 1837. After work as a teacher, businessman and journalist, William Smith became a minister in the Congrgational Church in 1865 and published his Scots translation of the Four Gospels in 1901.

I gaed tae onybiddy that wis needin, but I wid aye mak sure the doctor came. Sometimes they kent there wis a baby expectit, sometimes they didna. This wis in the thirties. They hid nae antenatal care. He wid ken aboot a baby comin if the mother hid been ill or if some of the bairns hid been bad an he'd been up tae the hoose. Bit itherwise they didna get ony lookin efter.

I lived in the hoose afore the bairns were born, There wis naebiddy there bit me. Sometimes, if there wis a neighbour handy she wid come in, bit fairms is usually on their ain an it wis maistly cotter hooses or fairms. It wis aa fowk at mebbe wisna weel aff. The weel aff fowk could aford mebbe somebody better. There wis nae midwife. They ca'ed ye the howdie. Fan ye arrived they said, 'Are you the howdie?' I aye kent in time afore. Usually they were needin some help especially fan there wis some little eens. Then ye stayed, sometimes a wik sometimes mair, sometimes ye didna hae time to spare but ye aye hid aboot a wik wi them or ten days. I did quite a lot, some o the names, I canna even min.

                frae Chapter Seven ( Doddie Davidson ) ' Scottish Midwives : Twentieth-Century Voices' - Lindsay Reid ( Published by Tuckwell Press 2000 )

    17. Sae a' the generations frae Ab'ram to Dauvit are fowrteen generations ; and frae dauvid to the takin awa' to Babylon to Christ fowrteen generations.

 

    18. Noo the nativitie o' Jesus Christ was this gate : whan his mither Mary was mairry't till Joseph, 'or they cam thegither, she was fund wi' bairn o' the Holie Spirit.

 

    19. Than her guidman, Joseph, bein an upricht man, and no desirin her name sud be i' the mooth o' the public, was ettlin to pit her awa' hidlins.

 

    20. But as he had thir things in his mind, see ! an Angel o' the Lord appear't till him by a dream, sayin, " Joseph, son o' Dauvid, binna feared to tak till ye yere wife, Mary ; for that whilk is begotten in her is by the Holie Spirit.

 

    21. " And she sall bring forth a son, and ye sal ca' his name JESUS ; for he sal save his folk frae their sins. "

 

    22. Noo, a' this was dune, that it micht come to pass what was said by the Lord throwe the prophet,

 

    23. " Tak tent ! a maiden sal be wi' bairn, and sal bring forth a son ; and they wull ca' his name Emmanuel, " whilk is translatit, " God wi' us. "

 

    24. Sae Joseph, comin oot o' his sleep, did as the Angel had bidden him, and took till him his wife.

 

    25. And leev'd in continence wi' her till she had brocht forth her firstborn son ; and ca'd his name JESUS.

 

                    Mathew Chaipter Ane, verses 17 til 25 frae 'The Four Gospels in Braid Scots' - Rev William W Smith

                        Grace be here, and grace be there,

                        And grace be on the table,

                        Ilka ane tak up their speen,

                        An sup a' that they're able.

 

                            - Traditional Scots Grace

We've come intil a gey queer time
Whan scrievin Scots is near a crime,
' There's no one speaks like that', they fleer,
- But wha the deil spoke like King Lear?
frae 'Epistle to John Guthrie' - Sydney Goodsir Smith

Thanks fir the invite til yir pairtie,
We're keen to come, no on a cairtie,
But in a Twintie-seevin bus;
That will dae weill eneuch fir us.

My wife and I read wi delyte
The letter wi yir kind invite,
And houpe to win, be't wind or weet,
Til this byordinar Shule-treat.

Yours aye,

Robert G Sutherland

Reply from Robert G Sutherland, the poet Robert Garioch, to an invitation to attend the 21st Birthday Party of the School of Scottish Studies in 1972.

The contribution of Norse to Scots in new words has been considerable. Here are some: at, the relative pronoun = who, which; big, build; blae, blue, as in blaeberry; brae, the brow of a hill; busk, to dress, adorn; carline, an old woman, feminine form of carl; ettle, to aim, intend; eident, industrious; ferlie, a wonder, strange sight; drucken, drunken (not a corruption of the English but from the Norse, drukinn); fike, to fidget; frae, from; gar, to make, compel; gate, road, as in many Scottish street-names, Gallowgate, Canongate, Trongate, Overgate; gimmer, a female lamb; gowk, a fool, from Old Norse gauk, cuckoo; graith, tools, equipment, soap-suds; hing, hang; host, cough; low, flame; luif, palm of the hand; kilt, from Old Norse = to tuck up; neive, fist; rowan, mountain ash; skerrie, isolated sea rock; lug, the ear; rug, to tug; strae, from Old Norse stra, straw; scug, to hide, skulk; til, a very charactistic Scandinavian word for to; stowp, a drinking-vessel, probably best known from 'Auld Lang Syne'; tike, dog; tyne, to lose. Most of these words are in use to this day, attesting to the importance of the Norse element.

 Frae 'The Guid Scots Tongue' - David Murison (1977), former editor of the Scots Independent and the Scottish National Dictionary.

1. Noo, whan Jesus was born i' Bethlehem-Judah, i' the days o' King Herod, lo ! Wyss Men cam frae the East tae Jerusalem.

    2. And quo' they, "Whaur is he bidin that is ca'd King o' the Jews ? for i' the East we saw his starn, and are come forrit to worship him."

    3. But the King, hearin, was sair putten-aboot ; and a' Jerusalem wi' him.

    4. And, gatherin a' the heigh-priests and writers o' the nation, he wad ken o' them "whaur the Messiah soud be born ?"

    5. And quo' they, "In Bethlehem-Judah ; for sae it is putten doon by the prophet ;

    6. " ' And thou, Bethlehem , land o' Judah, nane the least amang Judah's princes ! for oot o' thee sal come a Ruler, wha sal tend my folk o' Isra'l ! ' " 

    7. Than, Herod, convenin the Wyss Men privately, faund oot mair strickly o' the comin o' the starn ;

    8. And bad them gang to Bethlehem ; and quo' he, "Gang, and seek ye oot the wee bairn ; and whan ye ken, fesh me word again, that I as weel may come and worship."

    9. Eftir hearing the King, they gaed awa' ; and lo ! the starn whilk they saw i' the East gaed on afore them, till it stood whaur the wee bairn was.

    10. And whan they saw the starn, they were blythe wi' unco blythness.

    11. And comin intil the hoose, they saw the wee bairn, and his mither Mary ; and loutin doon, worshipp't him. And openin' oot their gear, they offer't till him gifts - gowd, and frankincense, and myrrh.

    12. And bein warned in a dream no to gang back till Herod, they airtit their way to their ain kintra anither gate.

   Mathew Chaipter Twa, verses 1 til 12 frae 'The Four Gospels in Braid Scots' - Rev William W Smith

'Foo aal's Bennachie? As aal's a man?'
Loon-like I wid speir, an leave ma bools
A boorach in the kypie at ma feet
An stan an stare oot ower the darknin laan
Ower parks an ferms, as far's ma een could see
To the muckle hull aneth the settin sun.
'Aaler, laddie, aye, gin Man himsel.
Naebody kens the age o Bennachie. 
frae 'Foo Aal's Bennachie' - Flora Garry

The scattered clans are ane the nicht,
Nae mair we war wi ane anither,
'Auld Scotland Yet!' for Scotland's richt
We'll bide the warld's fueds thegither. 
frae 'Sanct Andrew's Nicht' - George Leith

Then neist outspak a raucle Carlin,
Wha ken't fu' weel to cleek the Sterlin ;
For mony a pursie she had hooked,
An had in mony a well been douked :
Her Love had been a Highland laddie ;
But weary fa' the waefu' woodie !
Wi' sighs an' sobs she thus began
To wail her braw John Highlandman -
   frae 'The Jolly Beggars' - Robert Burns

" The feein' markets? Ye juist gaed in an' ye wandert about. The fairmer 'ad speir, ' ye feeing laddie?'. He'd need a little bylie, or an unner cattleman, or an orra loun or somethin ye ken, a boy for the second pair, ein for the third, ein for the fourth, ein for the fifth - I was feed for fift at Main's o' Melgin. Five pair on it. Nou there's twa fairms and there's ainly twa men.

A'body juist wandert about. Like at Freik market. Ye ken there's ainly houses at ae side o' the street at Friockheim. Fan ye gaed intil Friockheim market ye had a strae an' sitted on the dyke an' the fairmers had a walk up an' doun an' they come an' seen a likely lad for somethin, he wald hae come an' feed ye. Ye'd spit out yer strae an' gae ower tae the pub and there ye was. Ye got a shillin - ye wasna feed until ye got a shillin."

        - Andrew Law frae 'Odyssey - Voices From Scotland's Recent Past' edited by Billy Kay (1980)

6. And sae it was, that while they war thar, the days was fulfilled for her to bring forth.

    7. And she brocht forth her son - her first-born - and row't him in a barrie-coat, and laid him i' the manger, for that there was nae room for them i' the inn.

    8. And thar war in the same kintra side herds bidin i' the fields, and keepin gaird ower their flocks by nicht.

    9. And sae ! an Angel o' the Lord cam till them, and the glorie o' the Lord glintit roond aboot them ; and they war sair gliff'd.

    10. And the Angel said, " Be-na gliff'd ; for I bring ye gude tidins o' muckle joy to the hail warld !

    11. " For thar is born t'ye this day, in Dauvid's toun, a Saviour, wha is the Anointit Lord.

    12. " And here is the token for ye ; ye'se fin' the bairn row't in a barrie-coat, lyin in a manger. "

    13. And a' at ance there was wi' the Angel a thrang o' Heeven's host, praisin God, and sayin,

    14. " Glorie to God i' the heighest heights, and on the yirth peace ! Gude wull to Men !"

                Luke Chaipter Twa, Verses 6 - 14 frae ' The Four Gospels in Braid Scots' - Rev William W Smith

And surly ye'll be your pint stowp !
And surely I'll be mine !
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
 frae 'Auld Lang Syne' - Robert Burns

Gie me a cannie hour at e'en
My arms about my Dearie, O;
An' warly cares, an' warly men,
May a' gae tapsalteerie, O 
frae 'Green Grow The Rashes' - Robert Burns

Ye're a' richt if wind and watter are in the same direction, but if wind and tide are fechtin' each ither Gweed help ye. The boatie wis oot o' sicht maist o' the time; ye couldna even see the wheelhouse, she wis like a submarine awash, and a' because oor skipper wanted tae be hame tae see Peterheid play Deveronvale on the Seterday. A' the ither boats gaed in tae Scrabster herber or the tide changed, but nae oor skipper, an' neen o' the rest o's wis carin' fa Peterheid wis playin'. I fairly thocht I wis done for that time!

            frae 'The Clyack Sheaf' - David Toulmin. The Peterhead poet and fishing skipper Peter Buchan telling of a frightening storm in the Pentland Firth.

        Auld chuckie Reekies sair distrest,
        Down droops her ance weel burnish't crest,
        Nae joy her bonie buskit nest
                                    Can yield ava,
        Her darling bird that she lo'es best,
                                     Willie's awa !
            frae ' To William Creech' - Robert Burns

                                        Willie Wastle dwalt on Tweed,
                                            The spot they ca'ed it Linkum-doddie;
                                        Willie was a wabster guid,
                                            Could stown a clue wi' ony body :
                                        He had a wife was dour and din,
                                            O, Tinkler Madgie was her mither ;
                                                Sic a wife as Willie had,
                                                I wad na gi'e a button for her.

                                                    frae ' Sic A Wife As Willie Had' - Robert Burns