Ma name is Jimmy Waddell, Ah wis born in Summerlee
A workin' Jo frae a miner's row as straight as Ah cin be
Gied nae thocht tae ma future or the trade Ah wis tae dae
Ma fem'ly's line was, "Tak yer time, ye'll soon find yer own way"
Faither kept me oot the mines, ma mither frae the sea
Ah've tried ma hand at workin' the land, it's no' the life for me
Then one day Ah met a sairgeant bold recruitin' in oor toon
He looked sae braw wi' his trews an' a', so Ah signed up there an' then
Sae Ah will follow the mairchin' drum
The pipes that sound sae clear
Ah'm gaun tae strive for a sodger's life
There's nuthin' for me here
Mither wisnae angry, ma faither, he jist smiled
For he'd been a recruit in the First of Foot when her he'rt he'd first beguiled
He telt me, "Keep yer nose clean, son, when in yer barrack room
Don't show fear, don't volunteer, and keep yer heid weel doon"
An ye will follow the mairchin' drum
The pipes that sound sae clear
Ye're gaun tae strive for a sodger's life
There's nuthin' for ye here
When ma freens a' heard that Ah had signed the dotted line
Some cried me daft, some cried me saft, some thocht Ah'd din jist fine
An' twa that Ah'd bin tae school wi' telt me they'd done the same
So we drank oor share o' the Black Bull's beer, we sang oorselves back hame
Singin', "We will follow the mairchin' drum
The pipes that sound sae clear
We're gaun tae strive for a sodger's life
There's nuthin' for us here"
Ah nivver slept a wink that night, ma excitement hard t' bear
For aw Ah heard were the sairgeant's words still ringin' in ma ear
"This is peace-time, sodgerin' lads, an easy life for sure
This is 1914, so what chance is there o' war?"
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