Glen Collection of printed music > Printed music > Hand-book of the songs of Scotland

23
O weel may the boatie row
That fills a heavy creel,
And cleads us a' frae head to feet,
And buys our pottage meal.
The boatie rows, the boatie rows,
The boatie rows indeed ;
And happy be the lot of a'
That wish the boatie speed.
When Jamie vow'd he would be mine,
And wan frae me my heart,
muckle lighter grew my creel !
He swore we'd never part.
The boatie rows, the boatie rows,
The boatie rows fu' weel ;
And muckle lighter is the load
When love bears up the creel.
My kurtch I put upon my head,
And dress 'd myself fu' braw,
1 trow my heart was douff an' wae
When Jamie gaed awa :'
But weel may the boatie row,
And lucky be her part ;
And lightsome be the lassie's care
That yields an honest heart.
When Sawny, Jock, an' Janetie,
Are up, and gotten lear,
They'll help to gar the boatie row,
And lighten a' our care.
The boatie rows, the boatie rows,
The boatie rows fu' weel ;
And lightsome be the heart that bears
The murlin and the creel.
This beautiful song has been erroneously ascribed to a Mr. Ewen of Aberdeen, by
many who should have known better. It was written at least an hundred years before
honest John drew breath, and was called " The Fisher's Kant of Fittie" (Foot-Dee).
The old song, or rather ballad, contains twice the number of verses as the present one,
which was abridged by the late Mr. John Ewen, jeweller, for the purpose of being sung by
a Mr.Wilson in the theatre of Aberdeen, when it became so popular as to be published by
James Chalmers in one of the Aberdeen Magazines. One of the old verses runs thus :
And when with age we're worn down,
And hirpling round the door,
They'll row to keep us dry and warm,
As we've done them before.
These warm-hearted lines breathe the sentiments of true affection and parental love ;
showing the hope and the faith they had in their offspring, when the winter of age had
enfeebled their own hands.