Two Recruiting Sargeants - British Army Song (The Bards)

“Twa recruitin ‘sergeants” is a song coming from Scottish tradiction and is almost a historical document of life in the bothy farms about some poor young boys and their miserable life. The origin of the song dates back to 1700 and was popular again in the 1960s with Jeannie Robertson’s version.
A.L. Lloyd pointed out that Farquhar’s play, ‘The Recruiting Officer’ (1706) helped popularise ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’. The song was often sung during the Napoleonic Wars. It ‘survived for two and a half centuries among folk singers, dwindling all the time, till it seemed to be limited to the Scottish north-east’. Then a variant came back into ‘vigorous circulation in English cities under the title “Two Recruiting Sergeants from the Black Watch” (da Mudcat qui)
The melody is obviously a merry march, perfect to impress the unfortunate ones..
Lyrics -
Twa recruitin' sairgants cam frae the black watch
To markets and fairs some recruits for to catch
An' a' that they listed was for forty an' twa
So list my bonnie laddie an' come awa
Ch. - It is over the mountains, and over the main
Through Gibraltar to France and Spain
Get a feather tae your bonnet, and a kilt abeen your knee
An' list bonnie laddie an' come awa wi me
Oh laddie, ye dinna ken the danger that ye're in
If your horses wis to fleg an' your ousen wis to rin
This greedy auld fairmer winna pey your fee
So list bonnie laddie an' come awa wi me (Ch)
It is intae the barn an' oot o' the byre
This auld fairmer thinks ye'll never tire
For it's a slavery job of low degree
So list bonnie laddie an' come awa wi me. (Ch)
Wi your tatty poorin,s an' your meal an' kail
Your soor sowen soorins an' your ill-brewed ale
Wi your buttermilk and whey an' your breid fired raw
So list bonnie laddie an' come come awa. (Ch)
Oh, laddie if ye've got a sweetheart an' bairn
Ye'll easily get rid o' that ill-spun yarn
Twa rattles o' the drum an that'll pey it a'
So list bonnie laddie an' come awa

[@Evlogite19]

God bless you my dear cousins across the Pond! God blessed Great Britain with the toughest and smartest-looking soldiers in all the world and they have the history to prove it! Love and prayers from Boston, MA.

[@patrioticarchive]

Brilliant!

[@NihilsineDeo1866.]

I love this song 🇬🇧

[@99IronDuke]

Great stuff.