Wha'll buy
my caller herrin'?
They're bonnie fish and halesome farin';
Wha'll buy my caller herrin',
New drawn frae the Forth ?
When ye
were sleepin' on your pillows,
Dream'd ye aught o' our puir fellows,
Darkling as they faced the billows,
A' to fill the woven willows?
Wha'll buy
my caller herrin',
New drawn frae the Forth.
Wha'll buy
my caller herrin'?
They're no' brought here without brave darin',
Buy my caller herrin',
Haul'd through wind and rain.
Wha'll buy
my caller herrin',
New drawn frae the Forth.
Wha'll buy
my caller herrin'?
Oh, ye may ca' them vulgar farin',
Wives and mithers maist despairin',
Ca' them lives o' men.
Wha'll buy
my caller herrin',
New drawn frae the Forth.
When the
creel o' herrin' passes,
Ladies, clad in silks and laces,
Gather in their braw pelisses,
Cast their heads and screw their faces.
Wha'll buy
my caller herrin',
New drawn frae the Forth.
Wha'll buy
my caller herrin'?
They're bonnie fish and halesome farin';
Wha'll buy my caller herrin',
New drawn frae the Forth?
Air by Niel
Gow
Carolina Oliphant, (Lady Nairne), 1766-1845