The Wars o Germany
William Motherwell
O, wae be to the orders
That marched my love awa',
And wae be to the cruel cause
That gars my tears doon fa',
O, wae be to the bluidy wars
In High Germany,
For they hae ta'en my love and left
A broken hairt to me.
The drums came sounding up the street
Before the screich o' day,
And the wee, wee fifes played loud and shrill,
While yet the morn was grey;
And the bonny flags were a' unfurled,
A gallant sicht to see,
But wae's me for my sodger lad
That marched to Germany.
O lang, lang is the travel to
The bonny pier o' Leith,
And dreich it is to gang wi' the
Snawdrift in the teeth;
And O, the cauld wind froze the tear
That gathered in my e'e,
When I gaed there to see my love
Embark for Germany.
O, I looked o'er the braid blue sea
As far as could be seen,
The wee, wee sail upon the ship
My sodger lad was in;
But O, the wind blew cauld and snell
And the ship sailed speedily,
And the waves and cruel wars hae twined
My winsome lad frae me.