bagpipes

The Battle of Prestonpans was fought #OTD, 21 September 1745. The first major engagement in the Jacobite rebellion, Prestonpans was a stunning victory for the (mostly Highland) troops under Charles Edward Stuart. The song “Johnnie Cope”, composed very shortly afterwards, probably by Adam Skirving, exists in numerous versions & arrangements – including one by Beethoven – but it is originally a pipe tune.

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#Scottish #literature #bagpipes #music #song #Jacobites #18thcentury

Cope sent a challenge frae Dunbar,
Sayin “Charlie meet me an’ ye daur;
An’ I’ll learn ye the airts o’ war,
If ye’ll meet me in the morning.”
Hey! Johnnie Cope, are ye waukin’ yet?
Or are your drums a-beating yet?
If ye were waukin’ I wad wait,
Tae gang tae the coals i’ the morning.

When Charlie looked the letter upon,
He drew his sword its scabbard from,
“Come, follow me, my merry men,
And we’ll meet Johnnie Cope i’ the morning.”
Hey! Johnnie Cope, &c.

“Now Johnnie, be as gude’s as your word,
Come, let us try baith fire and sword,
And dinna flee like a frighted bird,
That’s chas’d frae its nest i’ the morning.”
Hey! Johnnie Cope, &c.

When Johnnie Cope he heard o’ this,
He thought it wadna be amiss
To have a horse in readiness,
To flee awa i’ the morning.
Hey! Johnnie Cope, &c.

“Fy now, Johnnie, get up an’ rin;
The Highland bagpipes make a din,
It’s best to sleep in a hale skin,
For ’twill be a bluidie morning.”
Hey! Johnnie Cope, &c.

When Johnnie Cope to Dunbar came,
They speer’d at him, “Where’s a’ your men?”
“The de’il confound me gin I ken,
For I left them a’ this morning.”
Hey! Johnnie Cope, &c.

“Now Johnnie, troth ye wasna blate,
Tae come wi’ the news o’ your ain defeat,
And leave your men in sic a strait,
Sae early in the morning.
Hey! Johnnie Cope, &c.

“I’faith”, quo’ Johnnie, “I got a fleg
Wi’ their claymores an’ philabegs,
If I face them again, deil break my legs,
So I wish you a gude-morning.”
Hey! Johnnie Cope, &c.

ALT

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