I'm gaun to sing ye a sang,
And I hope it'll gie ye content
At's a' aboot an auld fairmer
Gaun awa' tae pay his rent

CHORUS: Sing fa la la la la la
Sing fa la la la la lee
Sing fa la la la la la
Sing fa la la la la lee

As he was a ridin' alang
A-ridin' upon the highway
A gentleman robber rode up to him
And these words he did say: (Chorus)

Whaur are ye gaun, kind sir?
This made the auld man tae smile.
"Tae tell ye the truth," the auld man said,
"I'm just gaun twa-tree mile," (Chorus)

A doited auld carle am I
Just rentin' a sma' piece o' grund
And the half yearly rent o' it
Amounts tae forty pund (Chorus)

But my landlord's no been at hame,
I've no sen him a year and more
Which mak's the yearly rent o'it
Amount unto fourscore (Chorus)

"Ye shouldna hae told me this,
When robbers there are so mony,
For if they met you on the way,
They'd rob you of ilka penny" (Chorus)

The auld man winked his e'e.
Said "I don't care a fig.
My money is save intae my bags
Just under my saddle rig." (Chorus)

The gentleman robber then said,
"Deliver up your money,
Or else your life'll be snuffed oot,
For pistols are nae canny." (Chorus)

But the fairmer he was crafty
As in this world are mony.
He threw the saddle oot owre the hedge,
Sayin' "Fetch it if you'll have ony," (Chorus)

The robber he got off his horse
Wi' courage sae stoot and bold,
Awa' in search o' the saddle he ran,
Gave the auld man his horse tae hold (Chorus)

The auld man pit his fit in the stirrup
And then he got on at the stride,
And syne he set oot at the gallop,
Ye needna hae bidden him ride (Chorus)

The robber, he flew in a passion,
There was naething but straw in the bags.
So he drew oot his rusty auld gully
And hackit the saddle tae rags (Chorus)

As the fairmer wa ridin' hame
And gallopin' through the glen,
He spied auld Maggie his ridin' mear
And shooted "Maggie, coom hame!" (Chorus)

And when that he got hame
And tauld what he had done,
The auld man's wife pit on her claes
And roon' the hoose she ran (Chorus)

When they opened the robber's bags,
A wonderful sicht tae behold,
There was five hundred guineas in siller
An' another five hundred in gold (Chorus)

And aye she danced aroond
And made a muckle commotion.
"If ever our dauchter gets married," she said,
"It'll help tae enlarge her portion." (Chorus)
^^^