Download files
Complete book:
Individual page:
Thumbnail gallery: Grid view | List view
MISCELLANEOUS RHYMES. 327
HIGHLAND EXECRATION ON THE COMMONWEALTH.
The following- dog-grel is extracted from a manuscript
usually styled ' Constable's Cantus/ in the Advocates' Li-
brary : —
Te coven welt, tat gramagh ting,
Gar brek hem's word, gar de hem's king,
Gar peye hem's sesse, or tak hem's (geers),
Vel no dee 'at, del cowe de leers ;
Vel bid a file amang te crowes,
Tel scor te sword, and wiske te bowes ;
And fen her nen sal se te ?-e,
Te del may car fa gromaghee.
A more intelligible version follows : —
The Commonwealth, that gramagh thing,
Gar break him's word, gar die him's king,
Gar pay him's cess, or tak' him's gears,
We'll no do that, de'il cow the leears ;
"We'R bide a wliile amang the crows,
"We'll scour the sword, and A\-isk the bows,
And when her nainsell see the Biey
The de'il may care for Gramaghee !
The JRie is the king* : Gramaghee seems to have been a
Highland epithet for Cromwell, to whom it was not inap-
propriate, as the word signifies one who holds fast, as a
vice or pair of forceps.
END OF POPULAR RHYMES OP SCOTLAND.
HIGHLAND EXECRATION ON THE COMMONWEALTH.
The following- dog-grel is extracted from a manuscript
usually styled ' Constable's Cantus/ in the Advocates' Li-
brary : —
Te coven welt, tat gramagh ting,
Gar brek hem's word, gar de hem's king,
Gar peye hem's sesse, or tak hem's (geers),
Vel no dee 'at, del cowe de leers ;
Vel bid a file amang te crowes,
Tel scor te sword, and wiske te bowes ;
And fen her nen sal se te ?-e,
Te del may car fa gromaghee.
A more intelligible version follows : —
The Commonwealth, that gramagh thing,
Gar break him's word, gar die him's king,
Gar pay him's cess, or tak' him's gears,
We'll no do that, de'il cow the leears ;
"We'R bide a wliile amang the crows,
"We'll scour the sword, and A\-isk the bows,
And when her nainsell see the Biey
The de'il may care for Gramaghee !
The JRie is the king* : Gramaghee seems to have been a
Highland epithet for Cromwell, to whom it was not inap-
propriate, as the word signifies one who holds fast, as a
vice or pair of forceps.
END OF POPULAR RHYMES OP SCOTLAND.
Set display mode to: Large image | Transcription
Images and transcriptions on this page, including medium image downloads, may be used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence unless otherwise stated. 
| Early Gaelic Book Collections > J. F. Campbell Collection > Popular rhymes of Scotland > (337) |
|---|
| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/81378638 |
|---|
| Description | Original poems / by Robert Chambers. |
|---|---|
| Shelfmark | Cam.1.f.9 |
| Additional NLS resources: | |
| Attribution and copyright: |
|
More information
|
|
| Description | Volumes from a collection of 610 books rich in Highland folklore, Ossianic literature and other Celtic subjects. Many of the books annotated by John Francis Campbell of Islay, who assembled the collection. |
|---|
| Description | Selected items from five 'Special and Named Printed Collections'. Includes books in Gaelic and other Celtic languages, works about the Gaels, their languages, literature, culture and history. |
|---|