THE LASSIES O’ BONNIE DUNDEE by "AULD BETTY"
tune: Bonnie Dundee

To the Jute Lords o’Dundee Sir Avarice said –
“A lucky thought, lads, has come into my head:
The wages we’re payin’ are ower big, do ye se,
We maun hae a reduction in bonnie Dundee.

“The factory lasses they a’ gae sae braw,
Oor ladies hae often to gie them the wa’;
Wi’ their silks and their satins they bear aff the gree,
We ne’er saw the like o’t in bonnie Dundee.”

“A month syne or mair we pat on the screw,
An’ then per cent aff them we easily drew;
Tho’ the pill wasna sweet, it was wholesome, ye see,
Sae we’ll e’en try anither in bonnie Dundee.”

He paused for an answer, an’ a’ the sma’ fry
Flocked round him like dirt-flees aboot a pig-stye,
An’ loudly they cheered him, as each did agree
To bring doon the braw bonnets o’bonnie Dundee.

But to Baxter, Cox, Grimond an’ a the brave band,*
Be honour recorded throughout a’ the land,
Wha scorned fraw the workers to wrench a bawbee,
For they are the nobles o’ bonnie Dundee.

But when oor brave lassies they heard the ill news,
They cower’d not, they blanched not before the hard screws.
“Keep shouther to shouther!” they shouted wi’ glee,
‘An’ we’ll keep up the bonnets o’bonnie Dundee.

Frae Brechin an’ Forfar, Arbroath and Montrose,
Blairgowrie and Alyth subscriptions arose;
An’ toons that to name are ower mony for me
Send help to the lassies o’ bonnie Dundee.

The battle they’re fectin’ may sune be yer ain,
The cloud in the east may come wast wi’ its rain;
Ne’er grudge what yer able, but cheerfully gie
To support richt an’ justice in bonnie Dundee.

Some wiseacres say we’re weel paid for oor wark –
Anonymous writers that stab in the dark –
They daurna come forward, sic cowards they be,
Wi’ their name an’ their standing in bonnie Dundee.

"The women of Dundee, in particular, were reported as singing lively and probably rude songs on strike – but none of these seem to have survived, or at least they have not yet been found! This poem or song from the People’s Journal is about the 1875 millworkers strike. In the same edition as this poem, the editorial notes that 35 works were stopped and 12,000 people were on strike. The majority were women."

WORKING LIVES IN THE FACTORIES AND MILLS: TEXTILE HISTORY AND HERITAGE UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE MOOC on www.futurelearn.com
The course features a lot of songs and poems and quotations from popular literature of the times. There are similar courses in the Working Lives labour history series about miners and railroad workers.

"You can follow our activities in relation to researching working-class history, culture and literature on Twitter @PistonPen. We’d also love it if you’d listen to our lockdown Youtube and audio playlists ‘The Factory Muses: Songs from the Victorian Mills’. These songs were recorded for us by outstanding musical partners who you have heard on two of the ‘Working Lives’ courses, and some lyrics will now be familiar to you."