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AULD MAN'S MARE'S DEID The auld man's mare is deed, The puir man's mare is fleed, Shu deed for want o' naething. Shu nedder deed for mell, or maute, Nor yet shu deed for kail or saut, But shu deed for want o' breathin'. ________________________________________________________ Saxby Shetland Trad. Lore (1932), 63; used as a lullaby. This may be a traditional variant of a song reputedly composed by Patrick (Patie) Birnie (fl. 1700), a well-known rhymer and musician of his day. [Ramsay's "Elegie on Patie Birnie" (1721) mentions this song.] He was a Fifer, and "practised the art of a violer at the burgh of Kinghorn" (Chambers). [Texts in (e.g.) Whitelaw BSS (1875), 128 (2 versions), Ford VSB II.143 (collated), and with music in Greig Scots Minstrelsie, III.259.] It begins The auld man's mear's dead; The puir body's mear's dead; The auld man's mear's dead, A mile aboon Dundee. The sarcastic catch-phrase "He died for want o' breath" is often given as a reply to the question "How did he die?" (first heard c. 1940, Fife). @kids @death filename[ MAREDEAD MS  8note Sheet |
The Auld Man's Mare's Deid |