Traditional: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Andro and his cutty gun

Traditional

“Andro and his cutty gun” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 29 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

Blythe, blythe, and merry was she,

Blythe was she but and ben;

And weel she loo'd a Hawick gill,

And leugh to see a tappit hen.

She took me in, and set me down,

And hecht to keep me lawing-free;

But, cunning carline that she was,

She gart me birl my bawbee.

We loo'd the liquor well enough;

But waes my heart my cash was done,

Before that I had quench'd my drouth,

And laith I was to pawn my shoon.

When we had three times toom'd our stoup,

And the neist chappin new begun,

Wha started in, to heeze our hope,

But Andro wi' his cutty gun.

The carline brought her kebbuck ben,

With girdle-cakes weel toasted brown,

Weel does the canny kimmer ken

They gar the swats gae glibber down.

We ca'd the bicker aft about;

Till dawning we ne'er jee'd our bun,

And aye the cleanest drinker out,

Was Andro wi' his cutty gun.

He did like ony mavis sing,

And as I in his oxter sat

He ca'd me aye his bonnie thing,

And mony a sappy kiss I gat.

I ha'e been east, I ha'e been west,

I ha'e been far ayont the sun;

But the blythest lad that e'er I saw,

Was Andro wi' his cutty gun.

Credits

Written by Traditional

Traditional words. 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, “Andro and his cutty gun”

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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