Trade o' langsyne, or, The mechanic's farewell/Trade o' Langsyne, or, The Mechanic's Farewell

by Robert Burns (1759-1796)

The Trade o' Langsyne,

OR

The Mechanic’s Farewell.

TUNE—Auld Langsyne.

When you and I together met,
The trade was in its prime;
But now its fail’d, and we maun part,
The trade o’ langsyne:
The trade o’ langsyne, my-jo,
The trade o’ langsyne,
But now its fail’d, an’ we maun part
The trade o’ langsyne.

When trade was brisk, we a’ were right,
An’ things wi’ us gaed fine,
But now a’s tapsaherie gane,
Its no like langsyne:
Its no like langsyne, my jo,
Its no like langsyne;
But now a’s tapsalterie gane,
Its no like langsyne.

Wi’ dig die breeks an’ muslin prose,
Our lives we out maun pine,
For want o' that which now is gane,
The trade o' langsyne:
The trade o’ langsyne, my jo
The trade o’ langsyne,
For want o’ that which is now gane,
The trade o’ langsyne.

Our taxes too are grown sae big,
Beneath them sair we crine,
The want o’ wark, an' meat sae dear,
Its no like langsyne:
Its no like langsyne, my jo,
Its no like langsyne.
The want o’ wark, an’ meat sae dear,
Its so like langsyne.

The times may mend, an’ we may meet, .
Nae mair oursells to pine,
An’ this will come when it revives,
The trade o’ langsyne:
The trade o’ langsyne, my jo,
The trade o’ langsyne,
An’ this will come when it revives,
The trade o’ langsyne.