The Book of Scottish Song/The Waukin' o' the Fauld

by Allan Ramsay

For other versions of this work, see My Peggy is a Young Thing.

The Waukin' o' the Fauld.

[This forms the opening song of Ramsay's Gentle Shepherd. The "waukin' o' the fauld" alludes to the old pastoral practice of watching the sheepfolds at night, during the weaning of the lambs, on which occasions the shepherd was generally favoured with the company of his sweetheart.]

My Peggie is a young thing,
Just enter'd in her teens,
Fair as the day, and sweet as May,
Fair as the day, and always gay:
My Peggy is a young thing,
And I'm nae very auld,
Yet weel I like to meet her at
The wauking o' the fauld.

My Peggy speaks sae sweetly
Whene'er we meet alane,
I wish nae mair to lay my care,
I wish nae mair o' a' that's rare:
My Peggy speaks sae sweetly,
To a' the lave I'm cauld;
But she gars a' my spirits glow
At wauking o' the fauld.

My Peggy smiles sae kindly
Whene'er I whisper love,
That I look down on a' the town,
That I look down upon a crown:
My Peggy smiles sae kindly,
It makes me blythe and bauld,
And naething gi'es me sic delight,
As wauking o' the fauld.

My Peggy sings sae saftly,
When on my pipe I play;
By a' the rest it is confest,
By a' the rest that she sings best
My Peggy sings sae saftly.
And in her sangs are tauld,
Wi' innocence the wale o' sense,
At wauking o' the fauld.

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