Battling, Roaring Willie. By the late Sir W. Elliot. 471 



" Bat parting- wi' his fiddle, 

 The saut tear blint his e'e ; 

 And rattlin' roarin' Willie 

 Ye're welcome harae to me. 



" Willie come sell yoar fiddle, 



sell your fiddle sae fine, 

 Willie come sell your fiddle, 



And bu3 r a pint o' wine. 

 If I should sell my fiddle, 



The warld wad think I was mad, 

 For mony a rantin' day 



My fiddle and 1 hae had. 



" As I came by Crochallan, 



T cannily keekit ben : 

 Rattlin,' roarin' Willie 



Was sittin' at yon board-en', 

 Sittin' at yon board-en' 



Amang guid com]ianie ; 

 Eattlin,' roarin' Willie 



Ye're welcome hame to me." 



The addition made by himself Burns explains in the following 

 words : — " The last stanza of this song is mine. It was composed 

 out of compliment to one of the worthiest fellows in the world — 

 William Dunbar, Esq., Writer to the Signet, Edinr., and Colonel 

 of the Crochallan Volunteers — a club of wits who took that title 

 at the time of raising the Fencible regiments." l 



This version also appears in 

 Smith's " Modern Minstrel " (with music) 

 R. Chambers' "Scottish Songs," 



do. " Songs of Scotland prior to 



Burns" (with the air), 

 Allan Cunningham's "Life of Burns," 

 "Songs of England and Scotland," (pub. 



b} r Jas. Cochrane & Co.,) vol. n., p. 17. 



'Cromek's "Select Scottish Songs," with notices by Burns, 1810, (vol. 

 II., p. 4.) The place where these worthies met was in Douglas Tavern, 

 Anchor Close. 



[The name Crochallan is derived from the Gaelic words Cm chalien, 

 meaning Colin's Cattle, the name of a favourite air sung by the landlord. 

 William Smellie, the distinguished Naturalist, and translator of Buffon, was 

 one of the leading members of the Club— from Minor Antiquities of 

 Edinburgh, p. 201.— W.E.L.] 



1821, 



vol. in., p. 10. 



1829, 



vol. ii., p. 605. 



1862, 



vol. ii., p. 136. 



1834, 



vol. iv., p. 108. 



