The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #4520   Message #3158005
Posted By: Jim McLean
21-May-11 - 05:02 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Don't Sell Daddy Any More Whisky
Subject: Lyr Add: THE DRUNKARD'S RAGGIT WEAN
This is a Scottish version my father sang to us as kids. He always substituted the last half of the last line of each verse with the name of whatever child he was singing to e.g. "Puir wee Jimmie McLean."

The tune was Castles in the Air

THE DRUNKARD'S RAGGIT WEAN

    A considerable increase in the consumption of alcohol was one of the by-products of the Industrial Revolution and the dreadful living conditions endured by of most of those crammed into the hastily built towns. This, in turn, gave rise to the temperance movement, attempting to turn people away from the evils of drink. The poem below, by James P Crawford (1825-1887) was written in 1855. It was one of the most successful and frequently performed in the temperance movement of its time. Crawford was a tailor and the poem (which also had music written to accompany it) was said to have been written in a United Presbyterian Church in Glasgow, while the minister was delivering a long sermon.

       The Drunkard's Raggit Wean

       A wee bit raggit laddie gangs wan'rin' through the street,
       Wadin' 'mang the snaw wi' his wee hackit feet,
       Shiverin' i' the cauld blast, greetin' wi' the pain-
       Wha's the puir wee callan? He's a drunkard's raggit wean.

       He stan's at ilka door, an' keeks wi' wistfu' e'e
       To see the crowd aroun' the fire a' laughin' loud wi' glee;
       But he daurna venture ben, though his heart be e'er sae fain,
       For he mauna play wi' ither bairns, the drunkard's raggit wean.

       Oh, see the wee bit bairnie, his heart is unco fu',
       The sleet is blawin' cauld, and he's droukit through and through;
       He's speerin' for his mither, an' he won'ers whare she's gane:
       But oh ! his mither, she forgets her puir wee raggit wean.

       He kens nae faither's love, and he kens nae mither's care,
       To soothe his wee bit sorrows, or kaim his tautit hair,
       To kiss him when he waukens, or smooth his bed at e'en;
       An' oh ! he fears his faither's face, the drunkard's raggit wean.

       Oh, pity the wee laddie, sae guileless an' sae young!
       The oath that lea's the faither's lips 'll settle on his tongue,
       An' sinfu' words his mither speaks his infant lips 'll stain;
       For oh! there's nane to guide the bairn, the drunkard's raggit wean.

       Then surely we micht try an' turn that sinfu' mither's heart,
       An' try to get his faither to act a faither's part,
       An' mak' them lea' the drunkard's cup, an' never taste again,
       An' cherish wi' a parents' care their puir wee raggit wean.

       Meaning of unusual words:
       Raggit Wean=child with ragged clothes
       hackit=cracked, grazed
       greetin'=crying
       puir wee callan=poor, small lad
       ilka=every
       keeks=peeps
       ben=within
       fain=affectionate, in love
       mauna=must not
       bairns=children
       unco fu'=very drunk
       droukit=soaked through
       speerin'=asking
       kens=knows
       kaim=comb
       tautit=matted, tangled