I dreamed a dream the other nicht, a dream a' long ago
I saw ya in o' the travelin' folk, along the open road.
His step was light, his head held high tae catch the scent o' spring
And his voice rang round the country side as he begain to sing...
O come a' ye tramps and hawker-lads ye gaitherers o' bla'
That tramp the country roun' and roun', come listen youn' an' a'
I'll tell tae you a rovin' tale, o' sights that I hae seen
Far off intae the snowy north, an' sooth by Gretna Green.
I've traveled roun' the Lothian lan's, I seen the rushing Spey
I've been by Crieff and Calander an' by the shores o' Loch Tay
I've watched the rain on the border hills, the mist in northern glens
And I've bedded down beneath the moon, in corries naebedy kens
And I'm often down by Gallowa', an' roun' about Stranraer
My business takes me anywhere, sure I travel near an' far
For I've a rovin' in the blood, and there's nothing I will lack
As long as I've my daily fare, and a claethes upon my back.
I'm happy in the summer-time beneath the bright blue sky
Naer thinkin' in the mornin' at nicht where I've to lie
Barn or byre or aunywhere, or aut amang the hay
And if the weather does permit, I'm happy every day.
I think I'll go tae Paddy's Lan', I'm makin' up my mind
For Scotland's greatly altered noo, I canna raise the wind
And I will trust in Providence, if Providence proves true
And I'll sing of Erin's Isle when I return to you.
Come a' ye tramps and hawker-lads ye gaitherers o' bla'
That tramp the country roun' and roun', come listen youn' an' a'
I'll tell tae you a rovin' tale, o' sights that I hae seen
Far off intae the snowy north, an' sooth by Gretna Green.
When I'd awoken from my dream, the dawn song had begun.
The birds sang out their old old songs to great the rising sun.
I lay among the shadows, and thought of days long gone.
And those wanderin tramps and hawker lads, who's days are surely done.
