Frae fields whare Spring her sweets has blawn
Wi caller verdure owr the lawn,
The gowdspink comes in new attire,
The brawest ‘mang the whistling choir,
That, ere the sun can clear his een,
Wi glib notes sain the simmer’s green.
Sure Nature herried mony a tree,
For spraings and bonny spats to thee:
Nae mair the rainbow can impart
Sic glowing ferlies o’ her art,
Whase pencil wrought its freaks at will
On thee the sey-piece o’ her skill.
Nae mair thro’ straths in simmer dight
We seek the rose to bless our sight;
Or bid the bonny wa-flowers sprout
On yonder ruin’s lofty snout.
Thy shining garments far outstrip
The cherries upo’ Hebe’s lip,
And fool the tints that Nature chose
To busk and paint the crimson rose.
‘Mang man, wae’s heart! We aften find
The brawest drest want peace of mind,
While he that gangs wi ragged coat
Is weel contentit wi his lot.
Whan wand wi glewy birdlime’s set,
To steal far aff your dautit mate,
Blyth wad ye change your cleething gay
In lieu of lav’rock’s sober grey.
In vain thro’ woods you sair may ban
Th’envious treachery of man,
That, wi your gowden glister taen,
Still hunts you on the simmer’s plain,
And traps you ‘mang the sudden fa’s
O’ winter’s dreary dreepin snaws.
Now steekit frae the gowany field,
Frae ilka fav’rite houff and bield,
But mergh, alas! To disengage
Your bonny bouk frae fettering cage,
Your free-born bosom beats in vain
For darling liberty again.
In window hung, how aft we see
Thee keek around at warblers free,
That carrol saft, and sweetly sing
Wi’ a the blythness of the spring?
Like Tantalus they hing you here,
To spy the glories o’ the year;
And tho’ you’re at the burnie’s brink,
They downa suffer you to drink.
Ah, Liberty! thou bonny dame,
How wildly wanton is thy stream,
Round whilk the birdies a’ rejoice,
An’ hail you wi a grateful voice.
The gowdspink chatters joyous here,
And courts wi’ gleesome sangs his peer:
The mavis frae the new-bloom’d thorn
Begins his lauds at ear’est morn;
And herd loun louping owr the grass,
Need far less fleetching til his lass,
Than paughty damsels bred at courts,
Wha thraw their mou’s and take the dorts:
But, reft of thee, fient flee we care
For a’ that life ahint can spare.
The gowdspink, that sae lang has kend
Thy happy sweets (his wonted friend),
Her sad confinement ill can brook
In some dark chamber’s dowy nook;
Tho’ Mary’s hand his neb supplies,
Unkend to hunger’s painfu cries,
Ev’n beauty canna cheer the heart
Frae life, frae liberty apart;
For now we tyne its wonted lay,
Sae lightsome sweet, sae blythly gay.
Thus Fortune aft a curse can gie,
To wyle us far frae liberty:
Then tent her siren smiles wha list,
I’ll ne’er envy your girnal’s grist;
For whan fair freedom smiles nae mair,
Care I for life? Shame fa’ the hair;
A field o’ergrown wi’ rankest stubble,
The essence of a paltry bubble.
--Robert Fergusson
| arr. Ashley & Ian MacLeod: Four fiddle tunes Ashley MacLeod, fiddle; Bobby Lalonde, mandolin, bass, acoustic guitar; Adam Lalonde, percussion - Ashley MacLeod. From the Heart of Glengarry - Private Release 
|
| I. Traditional: Cairgoim Brooch
II. Jerry Holland: Johnny’s Muise’s Reel III. Traditional: Joe’s Favourite IV. Traditional: Shetland’s Fiddler |
| Fergusson’s Auld Reikie. The poetry of Robertson Fergusson with the music and songs of 18th Century Edinburgh Billy Kay, narrator; Jock Tamson’s Bairns: Tony Cuffe, vocals, guitar; Rod Paterson, vocals, guitar; Norman Chalmers, concertina; Derek Hoy, fiddle - Fergusson's Auld Reikie - Reikie Records |
| I. The Flowers o’ Edinburgh
II. Auld Reikie; Mallie Leigh III. Auld Reikie; Cauler Water; The yellow-haired Laddie IV. Leith Races; Duncan McCallipin; Leith Races; Hallow Fair; Hunting the Hare V. Caller Oysters; The Daft Days; Tullochgorum/Torry Burn VI. Elegy on the Death of Scots Music; The Birks of Invermay VII. The Ghaists; The New Game of 41 VIII. The Ghaists; Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation IX. Auld Reikie; Canongate Cadgers; Auld Reikie; Lassies o’ the Canongate X. Auld Reikie; Lassies o’ the Canongate & Canongate Cadgers XI. The Daft Days/Auld Reikie; The Caller Shades; Auld Reikie XII. The Flowers o’ Edinburgh; The Gates o’ Edinburgh |
| Return of the Wanderer Puirt a Baroque: David Greenberg, violin; Stephanie Conn, voice, percussion; Terry McKenna, guitars, lute, mandolin; David Sandall, harpsichord; with Abby Newton, ‘cello; Curly Boy Stubbs, guitar; Kate Dunlay, violin; John Allan Cameron, backup vocals - Return of the Wanderer. Puirt a Baroque - Marquis Classics
|
| I. Traditional, arr. James Oswald: Three Sheep Skins
II. Traditional: The Haughs of Cromdale/Sid Mar Chaidh an Càl a Dholaidh/The Haughs of Cromdale strathspey/The Hills of Cromdale/David Greenberg: The Mirimichi MacDonalds of Hamilton III. Christina Fergusson: Cumha Do Dh’Uilleam Siseal IV. Skene MS: The Flowers of the Forest/arr. Robert Bremner: The Flowers of the Forest/James Oswald: A New Strathspey Reel/Alexander Walker: Isla Side Lasses reel/Traditional: Good Morrow to Your Night Cap reel/Robert Mackintosh: Honorable Mr. Fraiser of Lovat’s reel V. Archibald Alexander, arr. Puirt a Baroque: Return of the Wanderer |
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