Violet Jacob

"A change o' deils is lichtsome." - Scots Proverb. My Grannie spent a merry youth,

Give me to-night to hide me in the shade, That neither moon nor star May see the secret place where I am laid,

Out in the upland places, I see both dale and down, And the ploughed earth with open scores

Craigo Woods, wi' the splash o' the cauld rain beatin' I' the back end o' the year, When the clouds hang laigh wi' the weicht o' their load o' greetin'

The willows stand by Fringford brook, From Fringford up to Hethe, Sun on their cloudy silver heads,

When winter's pulse seems dead beneath the snow, And has no throb to give, Warm your cold heart at mine, beloved, and so

I canna' see ye, lad, I canna' see ye, For a' yon glory that's aboot yer heid, Yon licht that haps ye, an' the hosts that's wi' ye,

(To A Pipe Tune) O, it's fine when the New and the Auld Year meet, An' the lads gang roarin' i' the lichtit street,

There's some that mak' themsels a name Wi' preachin', business, or a game, There's some wi' drink hae gotten fame

O Rab an' Dave an' rantin' Jim, The geans were turnin' reid When Scotland saw yer line grow dim,

Fine div I ken what ails yon puddock, Janet, That aince would hae her neb set up sae hie; There's them that disna' seem to understan' it,

O Logie Kirk amang the braes, I'm thinkin' o' the merry days Afore I trod thae weary ways

Maggie, I ken that ye are happ'd in glory And nane can gar ye greet; The joys o' Heaven are evermair afore ye,

Gin I should fa', Lord, by ony chance, And they howms o' France

The year declines, and yet there is A clearness, as of hinted spring; And chilly, like a virgin's kiss,

In the prison-house of the dark I lay with open eyes, And pale beyond the pale windows

I'm fairly disjaskit, Christina, The warld an' its glories are toom; I'm laid like a stane whaur ye left me,

O Jean, my Jean, when the bell ca's the congregation Owre valley an' hill wi' the ding frae its iron mou', When a'body's thochts is set on his ain salvation,

Them that's as highly placed as me (Wha am the beadle o' Drumlee) Should na be prood, nor yet owre free.

Above the darkened house the night is spread, The hidden valley holds Vapour and dew and silence in its folds,

The land is white, an' far awa' Abune ae bush an' tree Nae fit is movin' i' the snaw

I whiles gang to the brig-side That's past the briar tree, Alang the road when the licht is wide

Beside the doo'cot up the braes The fields slope doon frae me, An fine's the glint on blawin' days

Daytime an' nicht, Sun, wind an' rain; The lang, cauld licht

I mind, when I dream at nicht, Whaur the bonnie Sidlaws stand Wi' their feet on the dark'nin' land

I see the Gowk an' the Gowk sees me Beside a berry-bush by the aipple-tree. Old Scots Rhyme.

I have brought no store from the field now the day is ended, The harvest moon is up and I bear no sheaves; When the toilers carry the fruits hanging gold and splendid,

O Alec, up at Soutar's fairm, You, that's sae licht o' he'rt, I ken ye passin' by the tune

Laddie, my lad, when ye gang at the tail o' the plough An' the days draw in, When the burnin' yellow's awa' that was aince a-lowe

My love stood at the loanin' side An' held me by the hand, The bonniest lad that e'er did bide

It was faur-ye-weel, my dear, that the gulls were cryin' At the kirk beside the sands, Whaur the saumon-nets lay oot on the bents for dryin',

I O gin I lived i' the gowden mune Like the mannie that smiles at me,

Below the braes o' heather, and far alang the glen, The road rins southward, southward, that grips the souls o' men, That draws their fitsteps aye awa' frae hearth and frae fauld,

Lay me in yon place, lad, The gloamin's thick wi' nicht; I canna' see yer face, lad,

The weary, weary days gang by, The weary nichts they fa', I mauna rest, I canna lie

Aweel, I'm couped. But wha' could tell The road wad rin sae sair? I couldna gang yon pace mysel',

To Marykirk ye'll set ye forth, An' whustle as ye step alang, An' aye the Grampians i' the North

I see her as though she were standing yet In her tower at the end of the town, When the hot sun mounts and when dusk comes down,

Abune the hill ae muckle star is burnin', Sae saft an' still, my dear, sae far awa, There's ne'er a wind, noo day to nicht is turnin',

There's a tod aye blinkin' when the nicht comes doon, Blinkin' wi' his lang een an' keekin' roond an' roon', Creepin' by the fairmyaird when gloamin' is to fa',

I'm Sairgeant Weelum Henderson frae Pairth, That's wha I am! There's jist ae bluidy regiment on airth

As I gae'd doon by the twa mill dams i' the mornin' The water-hen cam' oot like a passin' wraith And her voice cam' through the reeds wi' a sound of warnin',

There's a wind comes doon frae the braes when the licht is spreadin' Chilly an' grey, An' the auld cock craws at the yett o' the muirland steadin'

"O tell me what was on yer road, ye roarin' norlan' Wind, As ye cam' blawin' frae the land that's niver frae my mind? My feet they traivel England, but I'm dee'in for the north."

Past life, past tears, far past the grave, The tryst is set for me, Since, for our all, your all you gave

I dreamed that life and time and space were one, And the pure trance of dawn; The increase drawn