Given that the Brits are BONKERS here’s a folk song that Facebookers had wondered about!

 Steeleye Span - 'Cam Ye O'er Frae France' Live in 1975!

someone asked for this over at Flickenbokkers 

Top Hat Crew "Live Music Archivists"

'Cam Ye O'er Frae France’ 

Cam’ Ye Ower Frae France is a witty and bitingly satirical song, which shows the general feeling of the Scots to the replacement of the Stuarts by the Hanoverarians. The Scots apparently found it illogical to have a puppet king who hardly spoke a word of English, seemed unaware of the existence of Gaelic, and appeared to have an intense preoccupation with gardening. The time signature varies between 7/4 and 6/8.

said Dick Gaughan

and from his now defunct website:

This comes from volume 1 of James Hogg’s Jacobite Relics of Scotland and is a scathing commentary on the political situation, and in particular on the members of the Scottish Establishment comfortably esconced in exile in France, prior to the first Jacobite Rising of 1715. All the names in the song refer to actual people, although some are obscure these days. e.g., “Geordie Whelps” was George I, “Bobbing John” was the Earl of Mar, known as “Bobbing” because of his tendency to shift his allegiance to whoever looked like being victorious.

Dick Gaughan sings Cam Ye Ower Frae France

Cam ye ower frae France? Cam ye doun by Lunnon?
Saw ye Geordie Whelps an his bonnie wumman?
Wis ye at the place caad the Kittle Housie?
Saw ye Geordie’s grace a-ridin on a goosie?

Geordie he’s a man, thair is little dout o’t,
He’s dune aa he can—wha can dae wiout it?
Doun thair cam a blade linkin like malordy
He wad drive a trade at the loom o Geordie.

Tho the claith were bad, blythely may we niffer
Gin we get a wab, it maks little differ
We hae tint our plaid, bunnet, belt an swordie
Haas an mailins braid—but we hae a Geordie!

Jockie’s gane tae France an Montgomery’s ladie
Thair thae’ll learn tae dance—Madam, are ye ready?
Thae’ll be back belyve, beltit, brisk an lordlie
Brawly may thae thrive tae dance a jig wi Geordie!

Hie for Sandy Don, hie for Cockalorum
Hie for Bobbing John an his Heilan quorum
Mony’s a sword an lance swings at heil an hurdie 

Hou thae’ll skip an dance owre the bum o Geordie!