Airdrie Aul’ North Burn

Strange that the pleasant task should fa'
Tae feckless hauns like mine
Tae tell about the Aul' North Burn
In days o' aul' lang syne

Tae sing that spot o' youthfu' joys
Nane has a better richt
I've row'd upon it's flow'ery braes
Frae day's first blink till nicht

An’ listen’d tae the blackies sang
Amang the hazels green
An’ fished for days in Baillie’s Plum
Big bairdocks wi’ a preen

An’ climbed the rose and’ woodbine steep
Ca’d Jennie Taylors Brae
Whar redbreasts sang, and titties built
An’ bees hummed a’ the day.

On sunny afternoons we swam
In Maggie Ramsay’s Linn
Whar stood the Witch’s Whinstone Chair
That rockit wi’ the win’

An’ Maggie’s bed, an’ Maggie’s cups
As sage traditions tell
She held tea parties wi’ the de’il
An’ witches like hersel’.

That was yae spot we laddies left
When it grew gloaming grey
We heard Maggie whurrin' 'mang the whins
An' bushes on the brae

But monie a moonlicht game we played
Nane feared for Maggie's spell
At tig, upon the smooth green grass
Beside the Aul' Wee Well

But time wi' magic wand has swept
Across this fairy scene
And these loved spots hae passed awa'
As they had never been

Still monie a heart far, far awa'
Can tell ilk nook an' turn
In fancy aftimes join the sports
By Airdrie Aul' North Burn

"The Auld North Burn" was written in 1868 by Airdrie poet Wm. McHutcheson