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Allan o' Maut (1568)

Gude Allan o' Maut was ance ca'd Bear
And he was cadged frae wa' to wear
And draggled wi' muck, and syne wi' rain,
Till he dee'd and cam' to life again.

He first grew green, syne he grew white,
Syne a' men thocht that he was ripe;
And wi' crookit gullies and hefts o' tree
They've hewed him down right doughtily.

Syne they've set Allan up into stooks
And casten on him many pleasant looks;
They've turs'd him up syne on a sled
Till in the grain-yard they made his bed.

Then men clamb up upon a ladder,
And happit his head frae wind and weather;
They've ta'en him neist up in their arms
And made his shake-down in the barns

The hollin souples, that were sae snell,
His back they loundert, mell for mell;
Mell for mell, and baff for baff
Till his hide flew about his lugs like chaff.

They stowed him up intil a seck
And o'er the horse-back broke his neck;
Syne birstled they him upon the kiln
Till he was bane-dry for the mill.

They coupit him then into the hopper
And broke his banes, gnipper for gnopper
Syne put the burn until the gleed,
And leepit the een out o' his head.

Till in cam' Barmy-breeks, his brother,
Like ae gude neighbour to crack wi' anither;
Says, "Allan o' Maut, are ye gaun to dee?
Rise up, man, first, and dance wi' me."

They danced about frae hand to hand,
Till they danced o'er the working-stand;
Syne in cam' Jenny wi' her dish,
She gae mony a rummle and rush
And Usquebaugh n'er bure the bell,
Sae bauld as Allan bure himsel'.

(rough 'translation' )

Alane o’Maut (Single Malt)

Good Single Malt was once named six-row barley
and was carried roughly from safety into danger;
and plowed under with manure, then next was rain,
and then he died and came to life again.

He first grew green, next he grew white,
then all men knew that he was ripe,
and with large crooked knives, and wooden staffs,
they hacked him down very courageously.

Since then, they’ve arranged Alane into shocks to dry in the field,
and with merry anticipation watched over him.
They’ve next seized and carried him away on a sledge,
and in the grain-yard, made his resting place. (These lines begin to describe 'malting': sprouting of the grain.)

Then men climbed up upon a ladder,
and covered his head from wind and weather.
They’ve taken him next up in their arms
and did his threshing in the barns.

The laurel flails that were so sharp,
his back they drubbed, blow for blow;
Blow for blow, and toss for toss,
till his hide flew about his ears like chaff. (After threshing and malting, it's off to be milled.)

They stowed him up into a sack,
and o’er the horse-back broke his neck.
And then they scorched him in the oven
till he was bone-dry for the mill.

They dumped him then into the hopper,
and broke his bones, gnipper for gnopper.
(note: ‘ga-nipper for ga-nopper for ga-nipper for ga-nopper’ etc is the sound the mill made!)
And then put the brew-water on slow burning peat
and boiled (until floating “eyes” formed froth) the ”eyes” (een) out of his head.

Until in came frothy yeast, his good friend,
like one good neighbor come to chat with another,
says “Malt Alone, are you going to die?
Rise up, man, first, and dance with me.”

They danced about closely , changing place to place
till they danced above the fermenting (tub) pot .
Then in came a country girl with her (“rin”) dish (to catch the flow).
She gave it many boisterous shaking movements.
And whiskey never bore the bell, (bore the bell: showed the fine attribute of bubbles on top after shaking)
As boldly as Alane bore himself. (bore himself: showed his quality)

The "translation" on the right is with the help of the "Dictionary of the Scots Language" http://www.dsl.ac.uk/
and a little help from others too numerous to mention.