A Bundle of Ballads

O’Er the Water to Charlie

As I came by the shore o’ Forth,
  And in by the craigs o’ Bernie;
There I spied a ship on the sea,
  And the skipper o’ her was Charlie.

O’er the water, and o’er the sea,
  O’er the water to Charlie;
I’ll gie John Ross another bawbie,
  To boat me o’er to Charlie.

Charlie keeps nae needles nor pins,
  And Charlie keeps nae trappin’;
But Charlie keeps twa bonnie black een,
  Would haud the lasses waukin’.

O’er the water, and o’er the sea,
  O’er the water to Charlie;
I’ll gie John Ross another bawbie,
  To boat me o’er to Charlie.

O Charlie is neither laird nor lord,
  Nor Charlie is a caddie;
But Charlie has twa bonnie red cheeks,
  And he’s my juggler laddie.

O’er the water, and o’er the sea,
  O’er the water to Charlie;
I’ll gie John Ross another bawbie,
  To boat me o’er to Charlie.

A pinch o’ snuff to poison the whigs,
  A gill o’ Geneva to drown them;
And he that winna drink Charlie’s health,
  May roaring seas surround him.

O’er the water, and o’er the sea,
  And o’er the water to Charlie;
I’ll gie John Brown another half-crown,
  To boat me o’er to Charlie.