First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
O saw ye my dearie, my Eppie McNab?
O saw ye my dearie, my Eppie McNab?
‘She’s down in the yard, she’s kissin the Laird,
She winna come hame to her ain Jock Rab. — will not, home, own
5 O come thy ways to me, my Eppie McNab;
O come thy ways to me, my Eppie McNab;
Whate’er thou has done, be it late, be it soon,
Thou’s welcome again to thy ain Jock Rab. — own
What says she, my dearie, my Eppie McNab?
10 What says she, my dearie, my Eppie McNab?
She lets thee to wit that she has thee forgot,
And for ever disowns thee, her ain Jock Rab.
O had I ne’er seen thee, my Eppie McNab!
O had I ne’er seen thee, my Eppie McNab!
15 As light as the air and as fause as thou’s fair, false
Thou’s broken the heart o’ thy ain Jock Rab!
This is Burns’s somewhat sanitised version of an old bawdy song with its political as well as erotic implications.