JAMIE RAEBURN
Traditional
My
name is Jamie Raeburn, frae Glasgow toon I came;
My
place and habitation I'm forced tae leave wi' shane;
From
my place and habitation I now maun gang awa',
Far
frae the bonnie hills and dales o' Caledonia.
It was
early one morning, just by the break of day,
We
were 'wakened by the turnkey, who unto us did say -
"Arise, ye hapless convicts, arise ye ane and a',
This
is the day ye are to stray from Caledonia."
We all
arose, put on our clothes, our hearts were full of grief,
Our
friends who a' stood round the coach, could grant us no relief;
Our
parents, wives, and sweethearts, their hearts were broke in twa,
To see
us leave the hills and dales o' Caledonia.
Farewell, my aged mother, I'm vexed for what I've done,
I hope
none will cast up to you the race that I have run;
I hope
God will protect you when I am far awa,
Far
from the bonnie hills and dales of Caledonia.
Farewell, my honest father, you are the best of men,
And
likewise my own sweetheart, it's Catherine is her name,
Nae
mair we'll walk by Clyde's clear stream or by the Broomielaw,
For I
must leave the hills and dales of Caledonia.
Footnote : This is one of the best known of the countless songs written
about transportation. Jamie Raeburn is reputed to have been a baker in
Glasgow, sentenced for petty theft, of which, in popular imagination at
any rate, he was innocent.
