Aunty Mary / Wee O'Hara

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Aunty Mary Had A Canary / Wee O'Hara 
Sung by Hamish Henderson.

Oh Aunty Mary had a canary,
Whistled the Cock o the North.
He whistled for oors, [hours]
An frichtened the Boers, [frightened]

They aa fell intae the Forth. [Firth of Forth]
B for Boer, K for Krudger [Kruger, Boer leader],
] for General French.
Oh the British were up at the tap of the hill
The Boers were doon in the trench. (Verse repeats)

As I cam doon through Glasgae toon,
I met wi wee O'Hara.
I gied him a lick o my Dundee rock [candy],
An he gied me a hurl in his barra [ride in his barrow (go cart)].

An oh, the bonny wee barra's mine,
It disnae belong tae wee O'Hara.
The fly [sly] wee bloke, he stuck [kept] tae my rock,
Sae ah'm for stickin tae his barra. (Repeats)

Aunty Mary" seems to have originated during the South African Boer War (1899-1902), sung to a favorite pipe-march tune, "The Cock of the North." This text is given by Ramsay Nicht at Eenie, 1932.  On the transcription of the School of Scottish Studies tape is the note, "We used to sing, in Glasgow: 'Aunty Mary had a canary, / Up the leg o her drawers. / It didnae come doon / Till the month o June, / And won the Victoria Cross.'"

Over forty differing versions of this latter bawdy version have been identified by Ewan McVicar.  Henderson follows it with "Wee O'Hara," another popular song, to the tune of a military march, "The British Grenadiers."

 


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