Digital Tradition Mirror

Wha Saw the 42nd

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Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available

Wha Saw the 42nd

1.
Saw ye the Forty-Second?
  Saw ye them gaun awa'?
Saw ye the Forty-Second
  Marching to the Broomielaw?

Some o' them had boots an' stockin's,
  Some o' them had nane ava;
Some o' them had tartan plaidies,
  Marching to the Broomielaw.

2.
Fa saw the Forty-Second,
Fa saw them gang awa?
Fa saw the Forty-Second
Gaein' to the Waupinschaw?
Some o' them gat chappit tatties,
Some o' them gat nane ava.
Some o' them gat barley bannocks,
Gaein' to the Waupinschaw.

Fa saw the Forty-Second,
Fa saw them gang awa?
Fa saw the Forty-Second
Marchin' doun the Broomie-Law?
Some of them had tartan troosers,
Some of them had nane ava,
Some of them had green umbrellas,
Marchin' doun the Broomie-Law.

3.
Wha saw the `Forty-second'
Wha saw them gaun awa'
Wha saw the `Forty-second'
Marchin' doon the Broomielaw.
Some o' them had buits and stockin's,
Some o' them had nane at a',
Some o' them had tartan trousers,
Marchin' doon the Broomielaw.

[Repeat lines 1-4]
Some o' them had kilts and sporrans,
Some o' them had nane at a',
Some o' them had braw Glengarries
Marchin' doon the Broomielaw.
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(1) Ford CR, 32; a Glasgow rhyme from the time of the
Crimean War.  A version coll. 1989 (ultimately from
Airdrie, c. 1930) has 4 Sailing (cf. "Wha saw the
cotton-spinners"); 7-8 = 1-2.
(2) Nicht at Eenie (1932), 6 (with music); whence
Montgomerie SNR (1946), 93 (no. 114), with music.
(3) Carlton Folk Songs (n.d.), 13, with music. (Spelling
regularised.)  Note says: "The location was altered to
suit whichever Town or Place where the ditty was sung.
In Glasgow it was Broomielaw, in Perth it was Thimbleraw
etc."  [Ritchie (1964), 14, has 1-8, with 7 kilts and
sporrans, 8 thro'.]

Cf. "Wha saw the Cotton Spinners".  At a later date this
was parodied into:


Wha' saw the tattie howkers,

Wha' saw them gang awa'?

Wha' saw the tattie howkers,

Marching through the Broomielaw?

Some of them had bits of stockings,

Some of them had nane at a',

Some of them had umberellas

Marching through the Broomielaw.

     [MacColl Streets of Song, no. 62, learned in childhood in
     Glasgow.]
The tune is an adaptation of Whistle o'er the Lave o't; see
note to "Katie Bairdie".  MS

Note: The version I heard is:

     March past, the forty-second,
     March past, the forty-twa'
     March past, the bare-arsed bastards
     Comin' from Ashanti war

     Some o' them hae Hielan' bonnets
     Some o' them hae nane at a'
     Some hae kilts an' others hae na'
     They be Hielan' laddies raw..

 I have no idea where I heard it, though. RG
MS, RG

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!