COME A' YE TRAMPS AN' HAWKERS
(As sung by Jimmy McBeth)

Come a' ye tramps and Hawker lads, ye gaitherers o' blaw,
That tramps the country roon an' roon, come listen een an' a'.
I'll tell tae ye a rovin' tale, an' sichts that I hae seen
Far up intae the snawy north or sooth by Gretna Green.

I've seen the high Ben Nevis, a toorin tae the mune,
I've been by Crieff an' Callander an' roon by bonnie Doon;
I've been by Nethy's silvery tides and places ill tae ken,
Far up intil the stormy north lies Urquhart's fairy glen.

Aft times I've lauched untae mysel' when trudgen on the road,
Wi' a bag o' blaw upon my back, my face as broon's a toad,
Wi' lumps o' cake and tattie scones, an' cheese an braxie ham,
It's nae thinking faur I'm comin' frae nor faur I'm gyaun tae gan.

But I'm happy in the summer time beneath the bright blue sky,
Nae thinking in the morning at nicht whaur I'm tae lie,
Bothies or Byres or anywhaur, or oot amang the hay,
And if the weather does permit I'm happy a' the day.

Loch Catrine an' Loch Lomond hae a' been seen by me,
The Dee, the Don, the Deveron that flows intae the sea,
Dunrobin Castle by the way I nearly had forgot,
And sye the Rickle o' Carlin marks the Hoose o' John O' Groat.

I'm often roon by Galloway and doon aboot Stranraer,
My business leads me anygates, for I travel near and far,
I've got the rovin' notion, there's naething fae't I loss,
And a' my day is my daily fare, an' what'll pay my doss.

I think I'll go tae Paddy's land, I'm makin' up my mind,
For Scotland's greatly altered noo - sure I canna raise the wind,
But I will trust in Providence, if Providence will prove true,
And I will sing o' Erin's Isle when I come back to you.