The Flag Waved O’er The Castle Wa’. Air- “The Birks o’ Invermay.” By Hogg.

 

The Flag Waved O’er The Castle Wa’.

Air- “The Birks o’ Invermay.”

The flag waved e’er the castle wa’,

The hind cam’ lilting o’er the lea,

Loud joy ran through the lighted ha’,

An’ ilka ane was blithe but me;

For, ah! My heart had tint its glee,

Although the wars had worn away;

The breast that used my stay to be,

Was lyin’ cauld in foreign clay.

I looked east, I looket west,

I saw the darksomr coming even;

The wild bird had its cozy nest,

The kid was to the hamlet driven,

But house, nor hame, aneath the heaven,

Except the skeugh of greenwood tree;

O, that was a’ the comfort given

To my three little bairns an’ me.

I had a pray’r I could na say!

I had a vow I dougtna breathe-

Foe aye they led my words astray,

An aye they wer’ connectet baith

Wi’ ane wha now was cauld in death!

I looket round wi’ wat’ry e’e-

Hope was na there-but I was laith

To see my little babies dee.

Just as the breeze the aspen stirred,

And bore aslant the falling dew,

I thought I heard a bonny bird

Singing amid the air so blue;

It was a lay that did renew

The hope deep sunk in misery,

It was of ane my woes that knew,

And some kind hearts that cared for me.

O, sweet as breaks the rising day,

Or sunbeams through the wavy rain,

Fell on my soul the cheering lay-

Was it an angel poured the strain?

Wha kens a yearning mother’s pain,

Bent o’er the child upon her knee!

O, mine will bless, and bless again,

The generous heart that cared for me.

A cot was reared by Mercy’s hand

Amid the Grampian wilderness-

It rose, as if by magic wand,

A shelter to forlorn Distress!

An’ weel I ken that Heaven will bless

The hearts that issued the decree-

The window and the fatherless

Can never pray and slighted be.

By Hogg.