My Ain Countrie

Provided by Rhoda Wilson - found handwritten among the personal effects of William Wilson, Mark and Graeme Thompson’s grandfather, after his death in 1982
Source: Sankey "Sacred Songs and Solos" no 982
Date: written in New York by Mary Ann Demarest circa 1861. This was one of the first 6 gospel songs ever recorded, sung for the Columbia record company by Glasgow singer/evangelist William MacEwan in London in 1911
Tune: Scotch Air

Recorded by the Low Country Boys on the 2005 cd "Gran Time Comin", and also featured on the 2007 Smithsonian Folkways compilation cd "Sound Neighbours".

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I am far frae ma hame a’ I’m weary aftenwhiles
For tha langed-for hamebringin’ an’ my Faither’s welcome smiles
An’ I’ll ne’er be fu’ content, until mine een do see
The gowden gates o’ Heaven, an’ my ain countrie.
The earth is fleck’d wi’ flowers, mony tinted, fresh and gay
The birdies warble blithely, for my Faither made them sae
But these sights an’ these soun’s will as naething be to me
When I hear the angels singin’ in my ain countrie

I’ve His guid word of promise that some gladsome day the King
To His ain royal palace His banished hame will bring
Wi’ een an’ wi hert rinnin’ owre we shall see
Tha King in His beauty in oor ain countrie
My sins hae been mony, an’ ma sorrows hae been sair
But there they’ll never vex me, nor be remember’d mair
For His bluid has made me white an’ His han’ shall dry my e’e
When He brings me hame at last to my ain countrie

Sae little noo I ken o’ yon blessèd bonnie place
I only ken it’s hame, whaur we shall see His face
It wad surely be eneuch, for evermair to be
I’ the glory o’ His presence in oor ain countrie
Like a bairn to its mither, a wee birdie to its nest
I wad fain be gangin’ noo unto my Saviour’s breast
For He gathers in His bosom witless, worthless lambs like me
An’ carries them Himsel’ to His ain countrie

He is faithfu’ that has promised an’ He’ll surely come again
He’ll keep His tryst wi’ me, at what oor A dinna ken
But He bids me still to wait, an ready aye to be
To gang at ony moment to my ain countrie
Sae I’m watchin’ aye an’ singin’ o my hamelan’ as I wait
For the soun’in’ o’ His fitfa’, this side the gowden gate
God gie His grace to ilka ane wha’ listens noo to me
That we a’ may gang in gladness to oor ain countrie.

My Sins are A' Awa'

Provided by Mark Thompson
Source: “Songs of Salvation" by Seth & Bessie Sykes, Glasgow
Date: Circa 1924
Tune: "They're Faur Across the Sea" or for verses only "I'm Anchored" - Redemption Songs no 838

Recorded by the Low Country Boys on the 2005 cd "Gran Time Comin" to the hymn tune "I've Found a Friend in Jesus".

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Burdened doon wi' sin an grief, no a frien' tae gi'e relief
Wand'rin blindly doon the dark broad road o' sin
Wi' a spirit fu' o' fears an' a pack o' wasted years
No a licht tae point the goal I fain wad win
O my feet were unco sair
And my hert wi' thorns o' care
While my mony friens had vanished like the snaw
It was then that Jesus came
Wi' His hert o' leevin' flame
An' my ev'ry sin He banished far awa

Chorus:
They're far, far awa'
A' my sins baith great an sma'
The Saviour by His blood has freed me from them a'
Tho' they were red as crimson
Jesus washed them white as snaw
He put them far ahint His back
Noo they're far far awa'

Noo the Lord is a' my sang, I must praise Him a' day lang
For He saves and keeps me by His mighty power
Never lets a day go by but He sends me from on high
A' the grace that keeps me fresh as Sharon's flower
He supplies my ev'ry need, on His precious word I feed
An' the breezes o' His spirit ower me blaw
He can speaks an a' is well, come and prove Him for yersel'
An' yer mony sins He'll banish far awa'

Aftentimes I lang tae be since the road grew bricht an free
In the hameland whaur the glory never dees
An' for ev'ry frien' I've lost, I have found a faithfu' host
Till my blessings are like wines upon the lees
But the frien' o frien's is Christ, who for a' my wants sufficed
An' I fear nae mair the thunders o' the Law
For while Earth is growin dim, lo! I stand complete in Him
Wi' my sins for ever banished faur awa

The Drunkard’s Raggit Wean

Provided by: Mark Thompson
Source: “The Live Wire – Collection of Prohibition Songs” compiled by Dr J B Herbert and published by The Rodeheaver Company, Gospel Music Publishers, Chicago.
Date: published 1914
Tune: written by JP Crawford, arranged by “JBH”
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A wee bit raggit laddie gangs wand’rin' thro’ the street
He’s wadin’ ‘mang the snaw wi’ his wee hackit feet
He’s shiv’rin’ in the cauld blast an greetin’ wi’ the pain
O wha’s the puir wean caa’in? He’s a drunkard’s raggit wean

Chorus:
Then surely we micht try an’ turn that sinful faither’s hairt
An’ try tae get him back again, tae act a faither’s part
An’ make him leave the drunkard’s cup, an’ never taste again
An’ cherish wi’ a parent’s care his puir wee raggit wean

O see the wee bit bairnie, his heart is unco fou
The sleet is blawin’ caul, an’ he’s dreepit thro’ and thro’
He’s cryin’ for his mither, but O, his mither’s gan
And there is nane to guide the bairn, the drunkard’s raggit wean

He kens no faither’s love, an’ he kens no mither’s care
Tae sooth his wee bit so-orr-ows, or comb his tautit hair
To kiss him when he wakens, or smooth his bed at e’en
An’ O, he fears his faither’s face, the drunkard’s raggit wean

Lay Me Doon in the Coul Coul Grun

Provided by: Rev Mervyn Gibson, Westbourne, East Belfast, 19th November 2006
Author: Sergeant Mackenzie
Date: Unknown
Tune: Unknown
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Lay me doon in the coul coul grun
Whaur afore monie mair has gan
Lay me doon in the coul coul grun
Whaur afore monie mair has gan

When they come A wull staun ma grun
Staun ma grun A’ll no be afeared
When they come A wull staun ma grun
Staun ma grun A’ll no be afeared

Thochts o hame tak awa ma fear
Sweet an bluid hide ma veil o tears
Thochts o hame tak awa ma fear
Sweet an bluid hide ma veil o tears

Yinst a year say a prayer fur me
Close yir een an remember me
Yinst a year say a prayer fur me
Close yir een an remember me

Nae mair shall A see the sun
For A fell tae a German’s gun
Nae mair shall A see the sun
For A fell tae a German’s gun

Lay me doon in the coul coul grun
Whaur afore monie mair has gan
Lay me doon in the coul coul grun
Whaur afore monie mair has gan

Dark Afore Dawnin

Provided by: Eric Thompson (my father) July 2003
Author: Etta Gracey Stoee
Date: Unknown
Tune: Unknown
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Dinna ye ken the signs o His comin?
Dinna ye hear the soun o His feet?
Ken ye na this is the dark afore dawnin?
Dawn o' the morn sae braw an sae sweet?

The nicht has been drear, but ne'er was it lanesome
E'en through the valley when shadows lay lang
His rod and His staff thegither gied comfort
Fitsair an weary, we aye had a sang

Can we forget, when we were aa greetin
The touch o His haun that wiped awa tears?
The promise He gied us, nae, niver tae leave us
Ne'er tae forsake us, it banished oor fears

Oor herts are sae sair, an' nigh sick wi langin
For the soun o His voice, an the sicht o His face
But the nicht is faur spent, an a bonnie day breakin
An then we shall meet Him - aye - saved by His grace

Awa' in a Manger

Provided by: Jack Adams, Ballymena
Source: traditional
Date: Unknown
Tune: traditional
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Awa' in a ruch heck, nae bield for a bed,
The bairnie Lord Jesus set doun His sweit head,
The stars in the dark lift sklentit doun whar He lay –
A winkle-wee babbie, asleep i' the strae.

The kye, they are mooin’, the babby’s awauk,
But the wee thing, Lord Jesus, nae greetin' He’ll mak.
Bide near me, Lord Jesus, leuk doun frae the sky
An' stay in about me till mornin’s ‘ootby.

Bide near me, Lord Jesus, I ax ye tae stae
Cooried doun close aside me an lo'e me, I pray.
Bless aa the dear littlins yer hird tenderly,
Mak us wordy o' havin' tae dwell there wi' Thee.

Sacred Scotch Solos by Alexander Halliday

Here is the cover and index page of the old Scottish hymn book this blog is named after: