JAMIE RAEBURN Traditional as sung by Daisy Chapman
My name is Jamie Raeburn, frae Glasgow toon I came;
My place and habitation I'm forced tae leave wi' shane;
From my place and habitation I now maun gang awa',
Far frae the bonnie hills and dales o' Caledonia.
It was early one morning, just by the break of day,
We were 'wakened by the turnkey, who unto us did say -
"Arise, ye hapless convicts, arise ye ane and a',
This is the day ye are to stray from Caledonia."
We all arose, put on our clothes, our hearts were full of grief,
Our friends who a' stood round the coach, could grant us no relief;
Our parents, wives, and sweethearts, their hearts were broke in twa,
To see us leave the hills and dales o' Caledonia.
Farewell, my aged mother, I'm vexed for what I've done,
I hope none will cast up to you the race that I have run;
I hope God will protect you when I am far awa,
Far from the bonnie hills and dales of Caledonia.
Farewell, my honest father, you are the best of men,
And likewise my own sweetheart, it's Catherine is her name,
Nae mair we'll walk by Clyde's clear stream or by the Broomielaw,
For I must leave the hills and dales of Caledonia.
If ere we chance to meet again I hope it will be above Where Hallelujahs wiil be sung to Him who reigns in love Nae earthly judge shall judge us there but He who rules us a Far frae the Bonnie Hills and Dales o Caledonia.
Flagnote: This is one of the best known of the countless songs written about transportation. Jamie Raeburn is reputed to have been a baker in Glasgow, sentenced for petty theft, of which, in popular imagination at any rate, he was innocent. Aberdeenshire-born Daisy Chapman (1912-1997) learned her many songs from her mother and granny and began singing in public after the death of her husband in 1959 and came to the notice of the folk song world through the Aberdeen Folk Club.
Thanks for this one. I am going to send it to my cousin Jeannie in Scotland as she was a Folk Singer for many years. She performed with her late husband in London and Germany.
I also have a my cousin David who lives in Brisbane also a Folk Singer, unfortumatey I do not have an e-mail address for him.
By the way I sincerely hope that you stay with the group.
