As I cam' in by Turra market,
Turra market for tae fee.
I fell in wi' a farmer chiel,
By the Barnyards o' Delgaty.
The ploughman came to the
town of Turriff (Turra) to ‘fee’ -
to get employment on a farm.
Linten adie, toorin adie,
Linten adie, toorin ae
Linten lowrin, lowrin, lowrin.
The Barnyards o' Delgaty.
He promised me the best pair,
There was in the country roon'
When I got to the Barnyards
There was nothing there
but skin and bone!
The farmer promised two fine
working horses, but he lied.
The auld black horse sat on his rump
The auld dun mare sat on her wime;
For a' that I could 'hup' and crack,
They wasnae there in yoking time
I can gae the kirk on Sunday,
Mony's the bonnie lass I see,
Sitting by her faither's side
Winking o'er the pews at me.
I can drink and no' be drunk
I can fecht and no' be slain
I can lie wi' another man's lass
Still be welcome tae my ain.
Soon my cannie is brunt oot
The snotter's fairly by the wane;
Fare ye weel, the Barnyards,
Ye'll never catch me here again.
The ‘snotter’ is the
burnt wick of a candle.
Recorded at An Tobar, Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland
Iain Thomson : vocals and guitar
Iain Thomson Band
Included here from the CD ‘The Long Road Home’ with kind permission from Iain Thomson.
There are many variants of this “most famous of all the old
Scottish Bothy Ballads” (wikipedia quote). Scroll down for a link to a version by Ewan Mcvicar, accompanied with accordion. As explained on his website for schools “The young ploughman at the Barnyards of Delgaty had gone to the town of Turriff (Turra) to ‘fee’ -
This a video presentation of the song with scrolling lyrics. It is with thanks to Ewan that it has been possible to add occasional footnotes.
For more recordings of Bothy Ballads from Aberdeenshire, visit the Aberdeen University project -
THE BARNYARDS O’ DELGATY