Rev. John Skinner 1721-1807
Come, gi'e's a sang, Montgomery cried,
And lay your disputes all aside,
What signifies't for folks to chide
For what's been done before them?
Let Whig and Tory all agree,
Whig and Tory, Whig and Tory,
Let Whig and Tory all agree,
To drop their Whig-mig-morum;
Let Whig and Tory all agree,
To spend the night in mirth and glee,
And cheerfu' sing alang wi' me
The reel of Tullochgorum.
O, Tullochgorum's my delight,
It gars us a' in ane unite,
And ony sumph that keeps up spite,
In conscience I abhor him.
Blythe and merry we's be a',
Blythe and merry, blythe and merry,
Blythe and merry we's be a'.
And mak' a cheerfu' quorum.
Blythe and merry we's be a',
As lang as we ha'e breath to draw,
And dance, till we be like to fa',
The reel of Tullochgorum.
There needs na' be sae great a phraise,
Wi' dringing dull Italian lays,
I wadna gi'e our ain strathspeys,
For half a hundred score o' 'em.
They're douff and dowie at the best,
Douff and dowie, douff and dowie,
They're douff and dowie at the best,
Wi' a' their variorum.
They're douff and dowie at the best,
Their allegros, and a' the rest,
They canna please a Highland taste,
Compar'd wi' Tullochgorum.
Let warldly minds themselves oppress
Wi' fears of want, and double cess,
And sullen sots themselves distress
Wi' keeping up decorum.
Shall we sae sour and sulky sit,
Sour and sulky, sour and sulky,
Shall we sae sour and sulky sit,
Like auld Philosophorum?
Shall we sae sour and sulky sit,
Wi' neither sense, nor mirth, nor wit,
Nor ever rise to shake a fit
At the reel of Tullochgorum?
May choicest blessings still attend
Each honest open-hearted friend,
And calm and quiet be his end,
And a' that's good watch o'er him!
May peace and plenty be his lot,
Peace and plenty, peace and plenty,
May peace and plenty be his lot,
And dainties a great store o' 'em
May peace and plenty be his lot,
Unstain'd by any vicious blot!
And may he never want a groat
That's fond of Tullochgorum.
But for the dirty, fawning fool,
Who wants to be oppression's tool,
May envy gnaw his rotten soul,
And discontent devour him!
May dool and sorrow be his chance,
Dool and sorrow, dool and sorrow,
May dool and sorrow be his chance,
And nane say, Wae's me for 'im!
May dool and sorrow be his chance,
And a' the ills that come frae France,
Whae'er he be, that winna dance
The reel of Tullochgorum!
Tullochgorum.
This song by Rev. John Skinner was said to have been composed in the house of a lady named Montgomery, in the town of Ellon, Aberdeenshire. This riveting foot - stomping song, protested against the divisions caused in Scotland by the two political factions, the Whigs and Tories, which Skinner believed could be healed by a good singsong. Robert Burns called it 'the best Scotch song ever Scotland saw'. It was first printed in the Scots Weekly Magazine for April, 1776.
Skinner was Born in Balfour, Aberdeenshire in 1721, the son of a schoolmaster at Birse and educated at Marishal College, Aberdeen.
Brought up as Presbyterian, he became an Episcopalian, serving as a minister to the congregation at Longside near Petershead for 65 years. After the Jacobite Rising of 1746, he and his congregation were persecuted, harsh measures would be imposed on the Scottish Episcopalian Church because of their Jacobite sympathies. This would change with the death of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1788, and the church gave loyalty to the Hanoverian George III.
In 1788 Skinner wrote The Ecclesiastical History of Scotland from the Episcopal point of view. He also rendered a selection of Psalms into Latin, and kept up a rhyming correspondence with Robert Burns.
He died at the home of his son on 16 June 1807.
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