Glen Collection of printed music > Printed text > Jacobite minstrelsy

MINSTRELSY. 127
Oh ! I hae grutten mony a day
For ane that's banish'd far away :
I canna sing, and maunna say,
How sair I grieve for somebody.
O hon, &c.
THOUGH GEORDIE REIGNS IN JAMIE'S STEAD.*
Though Geordie reigns in Jamie's stead,
I'm griev'd, yet scorn to shaw that ;
I'll ne'er look down, nor hang my head
To rebel Whig, for a' that.
For a' that, and a' that,
And thrice as muckle's a' that,
He's far beyond Dumblane the night,
That shall be king for a' that.
He wears a broad sword by his side,
And weel he kens to draw that ;
The target and the Highland plaid,
The shoulder belt, and a' that :
A bonnet bound with ribbons blue,
The white cockade, and a' that,
The tartan hose and philabeg,
Which makes us blythe, for a' that.
The Whigs think a' that weal is won,
But, faith, they maunna fa' that ;
* As the air of this Song is one which even a tuneless voice may
sing, and exceedingly pleasing from its ranting familiarity, it has
always been popular for the expression of political sentiment. In the
Jacobite times it was peculiarly so ; but it afterwards acquired ten-
fold influence, when, during the French revolutionary period, Burns
adapted to it his admirable Song of " A man's a man for a' that."
This latter production became the sort of political creed in verse of
the whole democratic party, and it is believed was one of the main
causes of the poet's preferment being stopped.