I was surprised to find that this classic was not in the DT. Here's the way Robin Hall taught it to me in London in 1958. We shared quite a few coffeehouse gigs at that time. I was getting paid under the counter, of course, since I had no work permit, but Caroline and I managed to survive for the year on those slim pickings, and had a free baby on the National Health at the same time. Here's the song:

DUNDEE WEAVER

I am a Dundee weaver, I come frae bonnie Dundee;
I met a Glasga fellae and he cam' courtin' me.
He took me oot a-walkin' doon by the Kelvinhaugh,
And there the dirty wee snotter stole my thingamajig awa'.
And there the dirty wee snotter stole my thingamajig awa'.

He took me oot a picnic doon by the rookin' glen;
He showed tae me the bonnie wee bird, he showed me the bonny wee hen.
He showed tae me the bonnie we bird, frae a linnet tae a craw;
He showed tae me the bird that stole my thingamajig awa'.
He showed tae me the bird that stole my thingamajig awa'.

So I'll gae back tae Dundee lookin' bonny, young and fair.
I'll put on my bucklin' shoes an' tie up my bonny brown hair.
I'll put on my corsets tight, tae mak' my body look sma',
And wha will ken by my rosy cheeks my thingamajig's awa'?
And wha will ken by my rosy cheeks my thingamajig's awa'?

So a' ye Dundee weavers, tak' this advice frae me:
Never let a fellae an inch above your knee;
An' never stand at the back o' your close, or up against the wa',
For, if you dae, ye can safely say, yer thingamajig's awa'.
If you dae, ye can safely say, yer thingamajig's awa'.

Some find this a bawdy song. I think of it as poignant. Perhaps some Glasgow geographer can help us out with the "rookin' glen" in the second verse. All I know is that's how Robin gave it to me, 'way back when.

Sandy