[dare]
A towmond o' trouble, should that be my fa', [twelvemonth, lot]
A night o' gude fellowship sowthers it a'; [solders]
When at the blythe end of our journey at last,
Wha the deil ever thinks o' the road he has past? [Who the devil]
Blind Chance, let her snapper and stoyte on her way, [stumble, stagger]
Be't to me, be't frae me, e'en let the jad gae:
Come ease or come travail, come pleasure or pain,
My warst word is--'Welcome, and welcome again!'
MY FATHER WAS A FARMER
My Father was a Farmer upon the Carrick border, O,
And carefully he bred me in decency and order, O;
He bade me act a manly part, though I had ne'er a farthing, O,
For without an honest manly heart, no man was worth regarding, O.
Then out into the world my course I did determine, O;
Tho' to be rich was not my wish, yet to be great was charming, O:
My talents they were not the worst, nor yet my education, O;
Resolv'd was I, at least to try, to mend my situation, O.
In many a way, and vain essay, I courted Fortune's favour, O:
Some cause unseen still stept between to frustrate each endeavour, O;
Sometimes by foes I was o'erpower'd, sometimes by friends forsaken, O;
And when my hope was at the top, I still was worst mistaken, O.
Then sore harass'd, and tir'd at last, with Fortune's vain delusion, O,
I dropt my schemes, like idle dreams, and came to this conclusion, O--
The past was bad, and the future hid; its good or ill untried, O;
But the present hour was in my pow'r, and so I would enjoy it, O.
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