Hew Ainslie: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Daft Days

Hew Ainslie

“Daft Days” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Hew Ainslie: Collected Lyrics Text 1 1843 · historical text
Public domainScottish songFolk
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Book of Scottish Song, edited by Alexander Whitelaw, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

"The midnight hour is clinking, lads,

An' the douce an' the decent are winking, lails,

Sae I tell you again,

Be't weel or ill ta'en,

It's time ye were quitting your drinking, lads."

"Gae ben an' mind your gantry, Kate,

Gi'e's mair o' your beer and less bantry, Kate;

For we vow whar we sit,

That afore we shall flit,

We'll be better acquent wi' your pantry, Kate.

"The daft days are but beginning, Kate,

An' we've sworn (wad ye ha'e us be sinning, Kate?)

By our faith an' our houp,

We shall stick by the stoup

As lang as a barrel keeps rinning, Kate.

"Thro' spring an' thro' simmer we moil it, Kate?

Through hay an' through harvest we toil it, Kate;

Sae ye ken, when the wheel

Is beginning to squeal,

It's time for to grease or to oil it, Kate.

"Then score us another drappy, Kate,

An' gi'e us a cake to our cappy, Kate;

For, by spigot an' pin,

It were mair than a sin

To flit when we're sitting sae happy, Kate."

Credits

Written by Hew Ainslie

Words by Hew Ainslie. Historical text published in The Book of Scottish Song (1843); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Book of Scottish Song (1843), edited by Alexander Whitelaw, “Daft Days”

Every contribution in this 1843 anthology predates modern copyright terms by more than a century; any contributor died at least 130 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide (life+70 terms expired no later than 2020).

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-12. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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