To sing a Scottish, or any dialectical song, I first learn the song as I have heard it, whether from a person or recording. Next, I find a printed or written text so that I can compare what I think I have heard to the words as written. After haning worked out these complications, I then proceed to master the song so as to be able to perform it honestly and correctly.

Case in point is "The Overgate" as sung by Jeannie Robertson. Despite numerous listenings, I could only interpret one line as:
An' presently we found oorsleves at the fit o" the Beak an" Claws, which I took to be the name of a tavern. But being unsure, I avoided doing this song in a performance.

When I first met Norman Kennedy in 1969, I made enquiries, but he did not know the song. It was only after I acquired the Kennedy compilation that I learbed the correct phrase, "...at the fit o"the Buchan Close."

My advice? Listen carefully, then look at the written text -- Tom