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Our Bonny Burnsides

from This Fleeting Liberty by Alan Dickson

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An early 19th-century poem (abridged) by George Henderson, Chirnside, set to a traditional tune by Alan Dickson.

lyrics

Our-bonny burnsides they hae drained and dug,
The crooks o the burn they hae altered too;
The green ferny knows where the hare lay snug,
They hae cleared o’ ilk buss, and riven wi the pleugh.
The bonny green braes by the foggy dell
Where grew the broom and the black slae-thorn,
They hae levelled down wi a purpose fell,
And Nature laments as her beauties torn.

The moor and the moss they hae aa ta’en in
To add to the great man’s wealth and store,
And the green bog-land, where sykes did rin,
Will bear the hay for our kye no more.
They hae torn up the sod o’ the lang-syne fauld,
And scattered the dust o’ the hill-side cairn,
Where lay the bones o’ the warriors auld,
And Nature laments aa her beauties torn.

They hae choked up the well that flowed sae free,
And the bonny well-strand they hae drained away,
Where young maiden Helen sang in her glee,
Or hied wi her full stoups up the brae.
Where flourished the rash-bus down yon howe,
The barley rigs now wave there unshorn;
And there mong the rashes we’ll nae mair rowe,
Where Nature laments aa her beauties torn.

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from This Fleeting Liberty, released May 9, 2017

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Alan Dickson Glasgow, UK

Scottish singer songwriter Alan Dickson was born in Leith but now based in Glasgow. Alan writes about life in Scotland and beyond, mainly of a personal and political nature.

Descended from a Leith docker, he remarks: "as life mimics art I'm just like my grandfather, only he used a rivet gun and I use a guitar."

Among his influences are Robert Burns, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Dick Gaughan. ... more

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