Dick Gaughan's Website

This site is built to the W3C standards for website authoring. If you can read this (and you are using a graphics-enabled browser), your browser is probably not standards-compliant and so, while the content will still be perfectly readable, the layout on this page will probably look a bit weird. If at all possible you should consider using a standards-compliant browser. I seriously recommend Mozilla Firefox. It's fully standards-compliant - and best of all, it's free!

Erin Go Bragh
(Trad)

Song Lyric as sung by Dick Gaughan

Ma name's Duncan Campbell fae the shire o Argyll
A've traivellt this country for mony's the mile
A've traivellt thro Irelan, Scotlan an aa
An the name A go under's bauld Erin-go-Bragh

Ae nicht in Auld Reekie A walked doun the street
Whan a saucy big polis A chanced for tae meet
He glowert in ma face an he gied me some jaw
Sayin whan cam ye owre, bauld Erin-go-Bragh?

Well, A am not a Pat tho in Irelan A've been
Nor am A a Paddy tho Irelan A've seen
But were A a Paddy, that's nothin at aa
For thair's mony's a bauld hero in Erin-go-Bragh

Well A know ye're a Pat by the cut o yer hair
Bit ye aa turn tae Scotsmen as sune as ye're here
Ye left yer ain countrie for brakin the law
An we're seizin aa stragglers fae Erin-go-Bragh

An were A a Pat an ye knew it wis true
Or wis A the devil, then whit's that tae you?
Were it no for the stick that ye haud in yer paw
A'd show ye a game played in Erin-go-Bragh

An a lump o blackthorn that A held in ma fist
Aroun his big bodie A made it tae twist
An the blude fae his napper A quickly did draw
An paid him stock-an-interest for Erin-go-Bragh

Bit the people cam roun like a flock o wild geese
Sayin catch that daft rascal he's killt the police
An for every freen A had A'm shair he had twa
It wis terrible hard times for Erin-go-Bragh

Bit A cam tae a wee boat that sails in the Forth
An A packed up ma gear an A steered for the North
Fareweill tae Auld Reekie, yer polis an aa
An the devil gang wi ye says Erin-go-Bragh

Sae come aa ye young people, whairever ye're from
A don't give a damn tae whit place ye belang
A come fae Argyll in the Heilans sae braw
Bit A ne'er took it ill bein caad Erin-go-Bragh

Song Notes

At one time in Lowland Scotland there was prejudice not only against the Irish but also against Highland Scots. This 19th century song deals with both these.

Glossary

The meanings of many Scots words can be inferred from context or similarity to English words with a common root. For the more difficult used in this song, here's a brief glossary.

Erin go bragh :
(Irish Gaelic) Ireland forever
Auld Reekie :
Edinburgh

More help in the General Guide to Scots


Top of Page

Recorded by Dick Gaughan

Also recorded by

 

Music is available for this song in these formats:

mp3
Sample

Not yet

Notation
& Chords

Not yet

MIDI
File

Not yet

ABC
Notation

Not yet

Related pages on this site

Related pages on other sites

The following links are to other websites and I am not responsible for what you might find there. Sites do change without warning and it is impossible for me to keep checking that links go where they should.

Song Archive

Lyrics and music for songs sung by Dick Gaughan

Gaughan Website
Song Archive
Song Index E
Erin Go Bragh