The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #125510   Message #2780294
Posted By: Jim Carroll
04-Dec-09 - 04:23 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: The Journey tae Fyvie (Bill Smith)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE JOURNEY TAE FYVIE (Bill Smith)
Gotcha!
From Scottish Folk Notes Vol 1 no 2 (no date, but contains a review of 101 Scottish Songs, which was published in 1962.)
Jim Carroll
^^
THE JOURNEY TAE FYVIE
By Bill Smith of Falkirk,
Tune – obvious.

There was a troop o' Irish Dragoons
Cam' marchin' up tae Fyvie-o,
An' the reason that they marched
A' the way frae Marble Arch:
There was nae railway runnin' up tae Fyvie-o.

Efter the Forty-Five was ower an' done,
Geordie said tae Wade, "Man alivie-o!
Grab yersel' a pick and spade,
Don't come back till you have made
Me a road runnin' a' the way tae Fyvie-o."

So Wade he grab'bed his shovel and he made the king a road
Up frae the Borders tae Fyvie-o.
He made the king a road
An' it wasna verra broad,
But it speeded the Journey up tae Fyvie-o.

Ye've a' heard o' Watt, the celebrated Scot,
Brewin' up some coffee efter bingein'-o
As he watched the kettle steam,
Jimmy Watt began tae dream,
An' inventit the verra first steam engine-o.

Soon efter came the train, product o' a Scottish brain,
Then railway lines ran tae Fyvie-o,
There was mony an English chiel
Made his fortune on the deal
When they buildit the railways up tae Fyvie-o.

It is different today, for the railways dinna pay,
So they brought in Doctor Beeching-o.
He came straight from I.C.I.
With his pukka Old School Tie
You should jist hear the nonsense he is preachin'-o.

He telt Uncle Mac, did this economic quack,
"Take all the railways up from Fyvie-o.
Take the railways all away
And the bloody things will pay,
And the nation's economy will thrive-y-o.

So now, Doctor Dick, don't you play this dirty trick,
If ye should value your lifie-o,
Or you'll end up on your back,
Fastened tae the railway track,
In the path o' the last train up tae Fyvie-o.