Be Kind to Auld Grannie

by Archibald Mackay

Be kind to auld grannie, for noo she is frail,
As a time shatter'd tree bending low in the gale.
When ye were bairnies tott, totting about,
She watch'd ye when in, and she watched ye when out;
And aye when ye chanc'd in your daffin and fun,
To dunt your wee head on the cauld stanney grun',
She lifted ye up and she kiss'd ye fu' fain,
Till a' your bit cares were forgotten again.
Then be kind to auld grannie, for noo she is frail,
As a time shatter'd tree bending low in the gale.

When first in your breasts rose that feeling divine,
That's wak'd by the tales and the sangs o' lang syne,
Wi' auld-warld cracks she would pleasure inspire,
In the lang winter nights as she sat by the fire;
Or melt your young hearts wi' some sweet Scottish lay,
Like "Flow'rs o' the Forest" or "Auld Robbie Gray";
Though eerie the win' blew around our bit cot,
Grim winter and a' its wild blasts were forgot;
Then be kind to auld grannie, for noo she is frail,
As a time shatter'd tree bending low in the gale.

And mind though the blythe day o' youth is noo yours,
Time will wither its joys, as wild winter the flow'rs;
And your step that's noo licht as the bound o' the roe,
Wi' cheerless auld age may be feeble and slow;
And the frien's o' your youth to the grave may be gane,
And ye on its brink may be tott'ring alane;
Oh, think how consoling some frien' would be then,
When the gloaming o' life comes like mist o'er the glen;
Then be kind to auld grannie, for noo she is frail,
As a time shatter'd tree bending low in the gale.

Meaning of unusual words:
bairnies=children
aye=always
daffin=romp
dunt=bump
stanney grun'=stony ground
fu' fain=full of affection
lang syne=long ago
auld-warld cracks=old world stories
mind=remember
gloaming=twilight/dusk