The Scottish songs - National Library of Scotland

348
And, gin ye forsake me, Marion,
I'll e'en gae draw up wi' Jean.
Sae put on your pearlins, Marion,
And kirtle o' cramasie ;
And, as sune as my chin has nae hair on,
I will come west, and see ye.*
TODLIN HAME.
Tune— Todlin liame.
When I hae a saxpence under my thoom,
Then I get credit in ilka toun ;
But, aye when I'm puir they bid me gang by
Oh, poverty parts gude company I
Todlin hame, todlin hame,
Couldna my loove come todlin hame.
Fair fa' the gudewife, and send her gude sale I
She gies us white bannocks to relish her ale ;
* From the Tea-Table Miscellany, 1724, where it is marked with the
signature letter Q.
In a version of " The Yowe-buehts," popular in the south of Scotland,
the following chorus is added
Come round about the Merry-knowes, my Marion ;
Come round about the Merry-knowes wi' me
Come round about the Merry-knowes, my Marion
For Whitsled is lying lee.
As Whitsled is a farm in the parish of Ashkirk, and county of Selkirk,
while the Merry-knowes is the name of a particular spot on the farm, it is
probable that the song is a native of that Arcadia of Scotland, the Vale of
the Tweed.
It has been suggested to the editor, that, to readers of fastidious taste,
the following would be a more acceptable version of the last stanza
I'm young and stout, my Marion
Nane dances like me on the green
I could work a haill day, my Marion,
For ae blink o' your een.
Sae put on your pearlins, Marion,
And kirtle o' cramasie;
And, as sune as it is the gloamin,
I will come west, and see ye.