[A composite volume : containing The ballads and songs of Ayrshire ...

;
;
it's a waefu' thing this drink, gudeman !
" And Orangefield, Dalrymple call'd,
From Finlayson, or some sic fauld,
To quell the mob, now grown sae bauld," &c.
Dalrymple of Orangefield, near Monkton, was a military officer
at the time. His son, James Daliymple, Esq. of Orangefield, was one
of the early pati'ons, and a warm friend of Bums.
The authorship of the ballad has been attributed to two individuals
—both natives of Kilmarnock—one of them, named Hunter, a shoemaker
; and the other, Tannahill, a legal practitioner. Our informant,
Mr A. M'Kay, is of opinion that it was the production of Hunter, who
is allowed to have composed several other doggrel pieces.
Jt's a Silacfu' ®]^ing tj^is
Brfnli, ^utrtman.
It's a waefu' thing this drink, gudeman !
It tooms baith house and hauld ;
Gars peace an' plenty flee our hame,
Brings strife and poortith cauld.
Yet there ye lie an' snore, gudeman !
Frae sun-rise till it's set
An' though the four-hours ha'e come roun',
Ye're barely sober yet.
Ye're barely sober yet, gudeman !
Ye're barely sober yet.
It's a waefu' thing this drink, gudeman !
It mak's our bairnies bare ;
There's no' ae dud upon their backs
But's worn sax months and mair.
I got thae bauchles on my feet.
The day we chi'istened Bell
58