Digital Tradition Mirror

Twa Recruitin' Sergeants

(This score available as ABC, SongWright, PostScript, PNG, or PMW, or a MIDI file)
Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available

Twa Recruitin' Sergeants

1. Twa recruiting sergeants came fra the Black Watch
   Tae markets and fairs, some recruits for tae catch
   But a' that they 'listed was forty and twa:
   Enlist my bonnie laddie an' come awa

Chorus:
And it's over the mountain and over the main
Through Gibralter, to France and Spain
Pit a feather tae your bonnet, and a kilt aboon your knee
Enlist my bonnie laddie and come awa with me.

2. Oh laddie ye dinna ken the danger that yer in
   If yer horses was to fleg, and yer owsen was to rin
   This greedy ole farmer, he wouldna pay yer fee
   Sae list my bonnie laddie and come awa wi' me

3. With your tattie porin's and yer meal and kale,
   Yer soor sowan' soorin's and yer ill-brewed ale,
   Yer buttermilk, yer whey, and yer breid fired raw
   Sae list my bonnie laddie and come awa

4. And its into the barn and out o' the byre
   This ole farmer, he thinks ye never tire
   It's slavery a' yer life, a life o' low degree
   Sae list my bonnie laddie and come awa with me

5. O laddie if ye've got a sweetheart an' a bairn,
   Ye'll easily get rid o' that ill-spun yarn
   Twa rattles o' the drum aye and that'll pay it a'
   Sae list my bonnie laddie and come awa.


Aboon: above
Tattie pourin's: water in which pototoes have been boiled.
Soor  sooin'  sourin's:  sowans, a  dish made  by  steeping  and
fermenting the husks,  seeds,  or siftings of oats in water, then
boiling; likely a poor substitute for beer.
from Cilla Fisher and Artie Trezise
Probably from Jeannie Robertson. MS
DC

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!