trad
Archie Fisher recorded in 1976 on The Man With a Rhyme, where he wrote: “An Ayrshire love song that has more of the drawing room about it than the tradition. Unclaimed by Burns, the melody more than justifies its place in the Scottish folksinger’s repertoire. I borrowed it from Geordie Hamilton of Edinburgh.”
Archie Fisher: The Echo Mocks the Corncrake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xak-VRRuV4
The lass that I loved first of all was handsome, young and fair. Wi’ her I spent sae many a nicht doon by the banks o’ Ayr. Wi’ her I spent sae many a nicht where scented clover grows, And the echo mocks the corncrake amang yon whinny knowes. We loved each other dearly and disputes we seldom had, As constant as the pendulum, our hearts beat ever glad. We sought for joy and found it where yon iwee burnie rows, And the echo mocks the corncrake amang yon whinny knowes. Ye ladies fair and pleasure dames drive tae the banks o’ Doune. Ye dearly pay yer every cent tae barbers for perfume. But rural joys are free for all where scented clover grows, And the echo mocks the corncrake amang yon whinny knowes. The corncrake is noo awa’ and the bank is tae the brim. The whinny knowes are capped wi’ snaw tae tap the highest whin. But when cold winter is awa’ and summers pierce the sky, We’ll welcome back the corncrake, the bird of rural joy.