GALA WATER - BRAW LADS OF GALA WATER -
from Ewan MacColl, ed., "Folk Songs and Ballads of Scotland". New York: Oak Publications,1965

Braw, Braw Lads o' Gala Water,
Bonnie lads o' Gala Water;
I'll kilt my coats abune my knee,
And follow my love through the water;
Braw, braw lads.

Lothian lads are black as de'ils,
And Selkirk lads are no' much better;
I'll kilt my coats abune my knee
And follow the lad o' Galla Water;
Braw, Braw lad.

It's ower the moss and doon yon glen,
And o'er the bonnie blooming heather,
Nicht or day he bears the gree,
The bonnie lad o' Galla Water;
Braw, Braw lad.

Corn Rigs are fine and bonnie,
A block o' sheep is muckle better,
The wind will shake a field of oats,
While lambs are frisklin' in Galla Water;
Braw, Braw lads.

Adieu, soor plooms o' Galashiels,
Tae you my faither, here's a letter;
It's I'm awa' wi' the black herd lad
To bide wi' him in Galla Water;
Braw, Braw lad.

-Ossian have a nice recording of the song on "St Kilda Wedding" album, Temple Records, Scotland

If you have trouble with the dialect see:
www.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/asc/-rokyta/asona...cze/vunihor.htm

If any reader has Scots lyrics for "the Bonnie Lass o' Gala Water" which goes to the same tune as Braw Lads..., please post it here.

I did an AltaVista search for "Gala Water" and came up with several midi sites giving the tune only; it's popular with pipe bands and maybe with céilidh bands also.

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 9-Jan-02.