My Last Farewell tae Stirling

Jimmy Hutchison, Newburgh: On Autumn Harvest ah011: Old Songs & Bothy Ballads 8: The Little Ball of Yarn Live from the Fife Traditional Singing Festival May 2011.

Jimmy learned his version of the song from Charlie Murray of Craigeassie by Forfar when he was a guest at the early TMSA Blairgowrie Festivals in the 1960s. Charlie was born in 1916 in the Black Isle, Ross-shire, and worked on farms there, in the Lothians and in Forfar. He remembered hearing the tune of the song sung in his younger days, but he learned the words from a version printed in Ewan MacColl's book Scotland Sings (1952). That version had been collated by Hamish Henderson from two versions he had recorded for the archives of the School of Scottish Studies in Edinburgh.

1: Nae lark in transport mounts the sky,
Or leaves wi early plaintive cry;
But I maun bid my last goodbye,
My last fareweel tae Stirling O.

Chorus:
Though far awa ma herts wi you,
Our youthfull hours upon wings they flew;
But I maun bid my last adieu,
My last fareweel tae Stirling O.

2: Nae mair I'll meet ye in the dark,
Or gang wi you to the king's park;
Or hunt the hare oot o his flap,
When I am far fae Stirling O.

3: Nae mair I'll wander through the glen,
And raise the roosts o pheasant hen;
And chase the rabbit tae his den,
When I am far fae Stirling O.

4: There's one request that I do have,
And that is tae my comrades all;
Ma dog and gun tae keep for me,
Till I come back tae Stirling O.

5: Noo fare ye weel my Jeannie dear,
For you I'll shed a bitter tear;
And I hope ye find anither dear,
When I am far fae Stirling O.

6: So fare ye weel for I am bound,
For twenty years tae Van Dieman's Land;
But speak of me and what I've done,
When I am far fae Stirling O.

Chorus:
Though far awa my herts wi you,
Our youthfull hours upon wings they flew;
But I will bid a last adieu,
My last fareweel tae Stirling O.