THE AULD BRAE WELL
We a' hae fond remembrances
That stir the heart for aye
And O! what memories gather round
The wee well on the brae.
The loved, the lost, the wandered far
We still can feel their spell
As they played as bonny bairnies
Roon the Auld Brae Well.
The trees that rustle ower our heids
The Auld Kirk on the Knowe
The rowin' river king o' a'
The rivers that may row.
Wi' music and wi'melodie
In Nature's voices tell
O' the frien's that played as bairnies
Roond the Auld Brae Well.
They've wandered monie a weary road
They've sailed ower monie a sea
An' followed round the rowin' earth
The footsteps o' the free.
They've crossed the wide Atlantic's wave
An' the Pacific's swell
Wha' hae played as bairnies
Roond the Auld Brae Well.
But aye whaure'er they bare their broos
An' swell their hymn o' praise
Their beatin' hearts are ever here
'Mang Stanley's bonnie braes.
An' a' the winds frae oot the West
Sweet messages can tell
O' the frien's that played as bairnies
Roond the Auld Brae Well.
An' see them lift their buirdly breasts
Upon the battle plain
When shot an' shell flew thick and fast
An' bluid fell like the rain.
Among the best an' bravest there
They bauldly fightin' fell
Wha' hae played as bonny bairnies
Roond the Auld Brae Well.
Their hearts were ever staunch an' true
Their hearts were ever leal
To foes they were as dour as death
To frien's as true as steel.
An' dauntless ever were they a'
Whatever ills befell
Wha' hae played as bonny bairnies
Roond the Auld Brae Well.
An' they wha' ne'er gaed frae hame
Oor dearest an' oor best
Oor faithers an' oor mithers a'
Hae' wandered to their rest.
They lie in bonnie Auchterga'en
Kinclaven or Kirkhill
Wha' hae played as bonny bairnies
Roond the Auld Brae Well.
While life is lingerin' in my heart
An' memory in my brain
I'll hear the crystal water rin
Reca'in joy and pain.
I'll hear the voices o' the past
In tender accents, tell
O the freends' wha' played as bairnies
Roond the Auld Brae Well.
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(Thanks to Kate Gairns for providing this)
