Wimmin o’ Dundee

Cho­rus
Oh the wailin’ o’ the bum­mer and the clackin’ o’ the looms
Brought the wim­min o’ Dundee oot o’ their beds,
And they walked tae mills and fact’ries and they wrought frae sev­en tae five
And the wim­min kept the bairns o’ Dundee fed.

  1. The men they were’na’ lazy but the work was hard tae find,
    The parish and the means test they’d tae face,
    But a lassie’s hands were nim­ble and a lassie’s wages sma’,
    So the wim­min o’ Dundee worked in their place.

Cho­rus

  1. Ma mither an’ ma granny an’ ma aun­ties yin an’ a’,
    Went tae the looms the day they left the school [skale],
    They did­nae work for free­dom, inde­pen­dence or the rest
    They jist worked tae get some kitchen for their kale.

Cho­rus

  1. Noo the rhythm o’ their livin’ was the clackin’ o’ the looms,
    Their youth and health and strength was lost tae jate,
    But the weavers and the spin­ners and the winders o’ Dundee
    Had the spir­it that the hard times did­nae bate.

Cho­rus

  1. You may boast o’ noble lin­eage and sing o’ yer Heilan’ clan
    And hale­some gal­lant chiefs wha share your name,
    But ma line’s as guid as ony and I’m very proud tae say
    It was frae a Dundee weaver that I came

Cho­rus x2

Rhythm (“sh te ke-ke”) on V3, V3 cho­rus, and last cho­rus but 1

Glossary:

  • Bum­mer — fac­to­ry siren
  • Wrought — worked
  • Kitchen — any­thing served in addi­tion to a plain food
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