Tuesday, July 08, 2014
It Cheers the Heart
Robert Gilfillan (1798-1850), "Blythe, Blythe, We'll A' Be Merry," in his Original Songs (Edinburgh: John Anderson, 1831), pp. 50-51:
Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. nappy, adj.1, sense 1.a: "Of ale, beer, etc.: having a head, foaming; heady, strong..." Also a noun meaning beer, ale.
Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. bicker, n.1: "'A bowl or dish for containing liquor, properly one made of wood.' Jamieson."
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Tune—"Andro and his cutty gun."Blythe = blithe, probably an adjective (exhibiting gladness), although possibly an imperative of the obsolete intransitive verb blithe (rejoice, be merry).
Blythe, blythe, we'll a' be merry,
Let social harmony prevail;
Wha wad care for port or sherry,
Whan they've Scotia's nappy ale?
It cheers the heart frae gloomy care,
It gies new vigour to the mind:
It stilleth strife to rise nae mair,
An' friendship's social link does bind.
Blythe, blythe, &c.
In days o' yore, how aft we've seen
A bicker rouse a sang or tale;
Sae let us be as we hae been,
For here's the nappy—here's the ale!
Blythe, blythe, &c.
Here's to the land o' rock and stream,
The land o' mountain, muir, and dale;
The land where freedom's star does gleam,
The land o' cakes and nappy ale!
Blythe, blythe, we'll a' be merry,
Let social harmony prevail;
Wha wad care for port or sherry,
Whan they've Scotia's nappy ale?
Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. nappy, adj.1, sense 1.a: "Of ale, beer, etc.: having a head, foaming; heady, strong..." Also a noun meaning beer, ale.
Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. bicker, n.1: "'A bowl or dish for containing liquor, properly one made of wood.' Jamieson."