The Wee German Lairdie - Early Scottish Jacobite Song

This one is recorded in the The Book of Scottish Song, and is an early Jacobite Song from the first years of the reign of George I of Hanover, whose hobby was to care for his vegetable patch.

Jacobitism is the belief that the throne of the United Kingdom was unlawfully granted to George of Hanover, and that the line of succession after James II and VII of the house of Stuart was deposed in 1688. Jacobites wish to restore the original line of succession, through James' son.

All main Jacobite claimants are Catholic, and gathered support of persecuted Catholics in the United Kingdom, but also of protestants whose religious freedoms were also threatened under the Anglican monarchs.

In the picture, King James Francis Edward Stuart, the first Jacobite pretender. Song by Alastair McDonald.

Special thanks to Connor for helping me translate it!

Lyrics:

Noo wha the deil ha'e we gotten for a king,
⁠But a wee, wee German lairdie?
And, when we gaed to bring him hame,
⁠He was delving in his kail-yardie:
Sheughing kail, and laying leeks,
But the hose, and but the breeks;
And up his beggar duds he decks—
⁠This wee, wee German lairdie.

And he's clapt down in our gudeman's chair,
⁠The wee, wee German lairdie;
And he's brought fouth o' foreign leeks,
⁠And dibbled them in his yardie.
He's pu'd the rose o' English loons,
And broken the harp o' Irish clowns;
But our thistle taps will jag his thumbs—
⁠This wee, wee Ginnan lairdie.

Come up amang our Highland hills,
⁠Thou wee, wee German lairdie,
And see the Stuart's lang-kail thrive
⁠They dibbled in our yardie:
And if a stock ye dare to pu',
Or haud the yoking o' a plough,
We'll break your sceptre o'er your mou',
⁠Thou wee bit German lairdie.

Our hills are steep, our glens are deep,
⁠Nae fitting for a yardie;
And our Norland thistles winna pu',
⁠Thou wee bit German lairdie:
And we've the trenching blades o' weir,
Wad prune ye o' your German gear—
We'll pass ye 'neath the claymore's shear,
⁠Thou feckless German lairdie!

Auld Scotland, thou'rt ower caald a hole
⁠For nursin' siecan vermin;
But the very dougs o' England's court
⁠They bark and howl in German.
Then keep thy dibble in thy ain hand,
⁠Thy spade but and thy yardie;
For wha the deil ha'e we gotten for a king,
⁠But a wee, wee German lairdie?

[ExCathedraFBIV]

I know that the Thirty Years War song had more votes and this one wasn't even in the poll, but a recent batch of mail-in votes for another Jacobite song was found in the outskirts of my house, so out of democratic zeal I had to count them. No, you cannot see them.

Also, don't forget to hit the bell button!

[ColesGingy]

love how it starts off with the German national anthem for the added burn

[warswapperproductions]

Irish Jacobite songs: beautiful, poetic, and magical
Scottish Jacobite songs: YE FECKLESS GARDENER

[hallowed]

The fact that they were writing diss tracks this long ago is mind blowing

[ryanrusch]

It's funny to think that the King chillin in his vegetable patch pissed the writer off so much that he had to write a song about it.

[TheScotsman]

For the Keeng o'er the water! Tae arms fer Royal Cherlie!

[_GOD_HAND_]

"We'll break your scepter over your mouth."

That line hits just right.

[GeraltofRivia]

The way he pronounces the words is so damn satisfying.

[AVKnecht]

Funfact: The current jacobite crown pretender is a wee german lairdie called Franz, Herzog von Bayern.

[pat]

Buddy was just trying to tend to his vegetable patch and got the shit roasted out of him.

[Laika]

Cheers for another Jacobite song! as a Scottish Catholic myself I love hearing Jacobite songs I've not heard before.

[jakevolpe]

Scots really is a beautiful language. It's poetic

[wot]

Queen Elizabeth II: This year couldn't get any worse
Me:

[guillaume]

Love our scotish brothers from France ! 🇨🇵✝️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[PaulO-rexx]

Hearing these endangered languages is really beautiful.

[azer_marlowbdl]

Love you Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 from France 🇫🇷

[samwalker]

Find this song amazingly interesting, as I've recently been looking into my families history, and found that my ancestors fought for the Jacobites, under clan Stuart. Admittedly I don't know too much about the rebellion but I'm learning. (That, and I've been buying replicas of Jacobite-era arms for a few years). Love the song!

[fatchins]

When both the Royal Family and the Jacobite pretender are German

[LuccaMorandin]

*The Jacobite Glory!* ⚜⚔🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿⚜⚔
Remember January 21 - Death of Louis XVI... 📜🥀

[johannfurstvongiallio]

Alastair McDonald. The guy who brought Scottish folk music to life as it was since olden days.

Would like you to upload his version of _Charlie Is My Darling_ too.