Addison, Hazel
My Mither an Father wir fairmin' fowk,
My Grannies an' Grandas tae,
They aa vrocht hard upon the laan,
There wis nought else they wid dae.
They raised their stock up ane by ane
Fae wee calfies richt tae coos,
They keepit sheep an' pigs as weel
An' cock-a-doodle doos.
They didna hae a tractor
In the days fin I wis young,
The corn wis aa cut by the scyth
An' gaither't up by haan.
Hard work awite it fairly wis,
Yer back gaed lots o' stoons,
An' at nicht we aa sat roon the fire
Pickin thistles fae oor thooms.
We didna hae a T.V.
Which wis maybe jist as weel,
For there wis nae time tae watch it
Fin we caam hame fae skweel.
We wir sent oot tae the neep park
Tae poo a puckle neeps,
We heidit them an tail't them
An' threw them intae heaps.
We helpit tae muck oot the byres
An' fult the hakes wi strae,
An aa those jobs ye hid tae dae
Afore ye got yer tay.
We didna hae a bathroom,
Oor shoor caam wi the rain,
Bit intae an aul tin bath we gaed
Ilka noo an' then.
We didna hae a flushin loo,
Jist a timmer seat an pail,
An if ony o's hid diarrhoea
Ye'd nae get in for smell.
There wis nae coloured toilet rolls,
Jist the Sunday Post or Mail
Wir torn intae little squares
An strung up on a nail.
Bit oor childhood days wir happy days,
Noo we can look back an see
Hoo better aff we are the day
Than oor aul fowk eist tae be.