Written to an ancient highland Air.
AULD Wattie [1] o Kebbuckston brae,
Wi lear an readin o beuks auld-farren,
What think ye ! the bodie cam owre the day,
An tauld us he's gaun tae be married tae Mirren. [2]
We a gat a biddin
Tae gang tae the weddin,
Baith Johnnie an Sannie, an Nellie an Nannie ;
An Tam o the Knows,
He swears an he vows,
At the dancin he'll face tae the bride wi his grannie.
A the lads hae trystet their joes ;
Slee Wullie cam up, an ca'd on Nellie ;
Altho she was hecht tae Geordie Bowse, [3]
She's gien him the gunk, an she's gaun wi Wullie.
Wee collier Johnnie [4]
Has yokit his pownie,
An's aff tae the toun for a ladin o nappy,
Wi fouth o gude meat
Tae ser us tae eat ;
Sae wi fuddlin an feastin we'll a be fu happy.
Wee Patie Brydie [5] tae say the grace—
The bodie's aye ready at dredgies an weddin's ;
An Flunkie M`Fee, o the Skiverton place,
Is chosen tae scuttle the pies and the puddin's.
For there'll be plenty
O ilka thing dainty,
Baith lang-kail an haggis, an ilka thing fittin ;
Wi luggies o beer,
Our wizzens tae clear,
Sae the deil fill his kyte wha gaes clung frae the meetin.
Lowrie has caft Gibbie Cameron's gun,
That his auld gutcher bore whan he fallowed Prince Charlie ;
The barrel was lustit as black as the grun,
But he's taen't to the smiddy, an's fettled it rarely.
Wi wallets o pouther,
His musket he'll shouther,
An ride at our heid, tae the bride's a-paradin ;
At ilka farm toun,
He'll fire them three roun,
Till the haill kintra ring wi the Kebbuckston weddin.
Jamie an Johnnie maun ride the broose, [6]
For few like them can sit in the saidle;
An Willie Cobreath, [7] the best o bows,
Is trysted to jig in the barn wi his fiddle.
Wi whiskin an fliskin,
An reelin an wheelin,
The young anes are like to loup out o the bodie,
An Nellie M`Nairn,
Tho sair forfairn,
He vows that he'll wallop twa sets wi the howdie.
Sannie M'Nab, wi his tartan trews, [8]
Has hecht tae come doun in the midst o the caper,
An gie us three wallops o merry shantrews,
Wi the true Hielan fling o Macrimmon the piper, [9]
Sic hippin an skippin,
An springin an flingin,
I'se wad that there's nane in the Lawlans can waff it !
Feth ! Willie maun fiddle,
An jirgum an diddle,
An screed till the sweat fa in beads frae his haffet.
Then gie me your han, my trusty guid frien,
An gie me yer word, my worthy auld kimmer,
Ye'll baith cam owre on Friday bedeen,
An join us in rantin an toomin the timmer.
Wi fouth o guid liquor,
We'll baud at the bicker,
And lang may the mailin o Kebbuckston flourish ;
For Wattie's sae free,
Between you an me,
I'se warrant he's bidden the hauf o the parish.
We are exceedingly sorry we cannot communicate much information concerning this humourous song. In our investigations, we discovered that Tannahill, at the time he wrote it, sent a copy, with a letter on the subject, to his friend Mr. James Barr, Kilbarchan. These were in existence after Barr's death on 24th February, 1860. His eldest daughter, Miss Janet Barr, distributed a number of Tannahill's letters and pieces among her father's acquaintances, and several of these appear in the Correspondence department of this volume. A bundle was sent to her nephew in Australia, who afterwards died; and these are now supposed to be irretrievably lost. We observed from a memorandum in Miss Barr's handwriting (see Note to No. 20) she had retained six pieces in her own possession; and, among these, were “Kebbuckston Weddin” and letter on the subject. She died on 25th December, 1873, aged 68. And at the present time, we applied to her surviving sister, Mrs. Bannerman, Liverpool, and Miss Barr's friends in Kilbarchan; but they all declared they had not seen them since Miss Barr's decease. We may now infer that the authentic information concerning the subject of this song is lost for ever.
We will now refer to the printed unauthenticated evidence. John Mitchell, poet, in a Note to his preface to “ ‘A Night on the Banks of Doon,’ and other poems; 1838,” said— “Tannahill's ‘Kibbuckstane’ and ‘Whinny Knows,’ both on the estate of Ferguslie, have been adorned by Mr. Barr,—the only compliment yet paid to his memory.” (See Note to John Mitchell's “Ode to the Memory of Tannahill” in Appendix.) Robert Skimming, another poet, said, in “Strains I used to Sing,” printed in 1852, in a Note to one of his poems, that “Kebbuckston is situated near Bridge of Weir.” (See Note to “I'll lay me on the wintry lee,” No. 135.) James J. Lamb, in his biographical sketch of Tannahill, 1873, said—“To the northward, a short walk through rural Fsrguslie, brings you to Kebbuckstone Brae, the scene of Auld Watty's memorable wedding.” Mitchell and Lamb are both dead, and we wrote Mr. Skimming asking his authority for placing Kebbuckston near Bridge of Weir. He replied that there was no place in Ferguslie estate called Kebbuckston in the days of Tannahill, nor for many years after his death; that his informant was James Paterson, weaver in Maxwelton Street, Paisley, an acquaintance of Tannahill's, who had died twenty years ago, aged 30; that the scene was Kibleston Farm, and the characters mostly belonged to Kilbarchan, and the Poet had changed the name of the farm; that John Parkhill, author of a small history of Paisley, was of the same opinion; and that both Paterson and Parkhill knew that Mitchell had fixed the scene on Ferguslie estate to please Mr. Barr. Neither Mitchell nor Skimming have attempted to describe a single character.—Ed.
[1] Wattie, the hero of this song, is involved in mystery; and we have not found a single person that could give any information, or even make a conjecture on the subject of that “auld-farren” bodie.—Ed.
[2] Note by Ramsay. —“Mirren, the local pronunciation of the name Marion,”
[3] George Bowse died 13th July, 1836; aged 74. —Ed.
[4] We think this referred to one of the Author's cousin's family, James Stevenson, at the Thorn.—Ed.
[5] We have already explained in the Memoir of the Tannahills that the true name of this person was Robert Brodie, son of Hugh Brodie, farmer, Langcraft, Lochwinnoch; consequently, a cousin of Mrs. Tannahill, the mother of the Author. He was an very exemplary gifted person, and frequently attended funerals and weddings to act as chaplain. Brydie is an old surname in Lochwinnoch Parish, and, in modern times, the orthography had been changed to Brodie.—Ed.
[6] To ride the broose,—to run a race on horseback at a wedding. A Scots custom, still preserved in the country. Those who are at a wedding, especially the younger part of the company, who are conducting the bride from her own house to the bridegroom's, often set off at full speed for the latter. This is called riding the broose. He who first reaches the house is said to win the broose.”—Jamieson.
[7] Willie Cobreath— Note by Ramsay.—“William Galbreath, whose services as a violin player were put in requisition on festive occasions all the country round. He lived during the greater part of his days in Kilbarchan, where he, after an interval of two centuries, worthily filled the situation of its renowned piper, Habbie Simpson. William had a buirdly personal figure; but unhappily, was blind from infancy. Tannahill listened with great pleasure to his strains; and Smith had a good opinion of his abilities, and named a tune after him. Latterly, he resided in Johnstone, where he died on 13th May, 1835, aged 63.”
[8] Alexander M‘Nab, a weaver at Lonend or Dykebar, a good dancer, who wore tartan trousers.—Ed.
[9] Mac-Rimmon was the name of the hereditary pipers of the clan M‘Leod ; and Donald Dubh Mac-Rimmon, the last of these pipers and dancers, born in 1731, died in 1822, aged 91.—Ed.
Note by Ramsay.—“The humour and spirit of this production are so appropriate that it is to be regretted the Author did not write more in the same vein. The bill of fare, and the description of the guests, will bring Francis Sempill's song of ‘The Blithesome Bridal’ to the recollection of those readers who are acquainted with Scottish poetry of the seventeenth century.”
[Semple 109]