Jimmy Waddell

Ma name is Jimmy Waddell, Ah wis born in Summerlee

A workin' Jo frae a miner's row as straight as Ah cin be

Gied nae thocht tae ma future or the trade Ah wis tae dae

Ma fem'ly's line was, "Tak yer time, ye'll soon find yer own way"

Faither kept me oot the mines, ma mither frae the sea

Ah've tried ma hand at workin' the land, it's no' the life for me

Then one day Ah met a sairgeant bold recruitin' in oor toon

He looked sae braw wi' his trews an' a', so Ah signed up there an' then

Sae Ah will follow the mairchin' drum

The pipes that sound sae clear

Ah'm gaun tae strive for a sodger's life

There's nuthin' for me here

Mither wisnae angry, ma faither, he jist smiled

For he'd been a recruit in the First of Foot when her he'rt he'd first beguiled

He telt me, "Keep yer nose clean, son, when in yer barrack room

Don't show fear, don't volunteer, and keep yer heid weel doon"

An ye will follow the mairchin' drum

The pipes that sound sae clear

Ye're gaun tae strive for a sodger's life

There's nuthin' for ye here

When ma freens a' heard that Ah had signed the dotted line

Some cried me daft, some cried me saft, some thocht Ah'd din jist fine

An' twa that Ah'd bin tae school wi' telt me they'd done the same

So we drank oor share o' the Black Bull's beer, we sang oorselves back hame

Singin', "We will follow the mairchin' drum

The pipes that sound sae clear

We're gaun tae strive for a sodger's life

There's nuthin' for us here"

Ah nivver slept a wink that night, ma excitement hard t' bear

For aw Ah heard were the sairgeant's words still ringin' in ma ear

"This is peace-time, sodgerin' lads, an easy life for sure

This is 1914, so what chance is there o' war?"

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