Traditional Scottish Songs
- My Ain Folk

Here is a song by Wilfred Mills, the pen name of William Alfred Braund that has been sung on many occasions when Scots, far from home, have gathered together.

William Braund never set foot in Scotland - he lived his life in South London and worked for a firm of pianoforte manufacturers. He explained that his use of a pen name was "because there is somewhat of a prejudice on the part of employers against the writing of verses by those following commercial avocations. It is deemed that such verse-writing is apt to conduce to less zeal being shown in their routine employment."


My Ain Folk

Far frae my hame I wander, but still my thoughts return
To my ain folk ower yonder, in the shieling by the burn.
I see the cosy ingle, and the mist abune the brae:
And joy and sadness mingle, as I list some auld-warld lay.

Chorus
And it's oh! but I'm longing for my ain folk,
Tho' they be but lowly, puir and plain folk:
I am far beyond the sea, but my heart will ever be
At home in dear auld Scotland, wi' my ain folk.
O' their absent ane they're telling, the auld folk by the fire:
And I mark the swift tears welling, as the ruddy flame leaps high'r.
How the mither wad caress me, were I but by her side:
Now she prays that Heav'n will bless me, tho' the stormy seas divide.

Chorus

Meaning of unusual words:
shieling=hut used by people looking after animals high in the hills.
ingle=fireside
abune=above
brae=hillside
auld-warld=old world

Return to the Index of Traditional Scottish Songs




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