Songtext Tramps and hawkers Paddy Schmidt

Tramps and hawkers

O come a´ ye tramps and hawker-lads an´ gaitherers o´ bla´
That tramp the country roun´ and roun´, come listen one and a´
I´ll tell tae ye a rovin´ tale, an´ places I hae been
Far up into the snowy north, or sooth by Gretna Green.

I´ve seen the high Ben Nevis that gangs towerin´ tae the moon
I´ve been roun´ by Crieff an´ Callander an´ by Bonny Doon
I´ve been by Nethy´s silvery tide an´ places ill tae ken
Far up into the stormy north lies Urquart´s fairy glen

Sometimes noo I laugh tae mysel´ when dodgin´ alang the road
Wi´ a bag o´ meal slung upon my back, my face as broun´s a toad
Wi´ lumps o´cheese and tattie-scones or breid an´ braxie ham
Nae thinking whar´ I´m comin´ frae nor thinkin´ whar I´m gang.

I´m happy in the summer-time beneath the dark blue sky
Nae thinkin´ in the mornin´ at nicht where i´m gang to lie
Bothies or byres or barns, or oot amangst the hay
And if the weather does permit, I´m happy a´ the day.

Loch Katrine and Loch Lomond, they´ve oft been seen by me
The Dee, the Don, the Devron, that a´ flows tae the sea
Dunrobin Castle, by the way, I nearly had forgot
And the reckless stanes o´cairn that mairks the hoose o´ John o´ Groat.

I´ve been by bonny Gallowa´, an´ often roun´ Stranraer
My business leads me anywhere, I travel near an´ far
I´ve got that rovin´ notion I wouldna like tae loss
For It´s my daily fare an´ as much´ll pay my doss.

I think I´ll gang tae Paddy´s Lan´, I´m makin´ up my mind
For Scotland´s greatly altered noo, I canna raise the wind
But if I can trust in Providence, if Providence should prove true
I´ll sing ye´s a´ of Erin´s Isle when I come back to you