“W. McGonagall,” Dundee.— We are in the receipt of another from Mr McGonagall, dated March the 7th, which only took a fortnight in reaching us— a marked improvement upon the speed with his former effusion came to hand. Our Good Templar friends will be grieved to learn that a poet of Mr McGonagall’s talents has been holding a jollification with a few kindred spirits, and seeks to celebrate the event in rhyme. His song opens thusly:—
Here are we met, a very merry set,
And a jovial set of boys are we
And we’ll’ drink and sing and mak the tavern ring,
Owre a we drap o’ the barley bree.
Mr McGonagall has furnished three different choruses for his song, but we can only afford to treat our readers to one of them, namely:—
Chorus—
Sae we’ill no get fou,
We’ill no get fou,
For that wad spoil a’ the spree;
Sae we’ill tak a we drap,
And hae a social crack,
Owre a we drap o’ the barley bree.
We can only give one other verse, to show to what an unfortunate level our poet has suffered his muse to fail, and would meanwhile recommend some of our Good Templar friends to look him up:
And as we’ve a met thagether to hae a spree,
I houp nane o’ us will disagree.
By getting owre fou, until we spu,
By taking owre muckle o’ the barley bree.
Aberdeen Weekly News, 29th March 1879
