Biography:
Brian McNeill is a multi-talent Scottish folk musician and song-writer. He was a founder member of Battlefield Band.
Read more on Last.fm
Other songs:
Four years of hard work!This month of May we celebrated four years on the air. We continue working on the dissemination of this wonderful instrument, thank you for participating in our story!
[Verse 1]
D G D
My uncle Jim he served his time
A
on the shore o' the Forth as a joiner
Hm ( A D ) G D A
and three pounds ten a week was all he earned
D G D
but the wages were better working Michigan pine
A
so he sailed on an ocean liner
Hm D A D
to build a better life with the trade he'd learned.
G D G D
And the shore he reached in twenty-three
G D G D
the home of the brave, the land o' the free
Hm ( A D ) G D A
was dry as the devil's tongue on Judgement Day
G D G D
but to find a dram in a foreign land
G D G D
it's the natural gift of a Falkirk man
Hm ( A D ) G D A
and Lady Liberty looked the other way
Hm D A D
or so I've always heard my uncle say:
[Chorus]
D ( A ) D A D
For he's the best o' the barley cream o' the crop.
G D A
Easy on the water and I'll tell you when to stop.
D
So would you please charge your glasses
F#m G
with the real pure drop,
A Hm
and drink to the best o' the barley.
[Verse 2]
A D G D
My Uncle Jim was a child of his time
A
and the tricks of the time they were dirty,
Hm ( D ) G D A
and the dirtiest of all was the one they played
D G D
on a workingman's dollar and a poor man's dime
A
between twenty-nine and thirty,
Hm D A D
for they killed all the steady jobs in the building trade.
G D G D
And the only way that Jim could see
G D G D
was to play the game with Lady Liberty
Hm ( A D ) G D A
though no one ever told him all the rules,
G D G D
and when fainter hearts were homeward bound
G D G D
Jim sold Michigan ice by the pound
Hm ( A D ) G D A
with a leather sling and an iron hook for tools
Hm D A D
just to show the Yankees how to keep their cool.
[Chorus]
D ( A ) D A D
For he's the best o' the barley cream o' the crop.
G D A
Easy on the water and I'll tell you when to stop.
D
So would you please charge your glasses
F#m G
with the real pure drop,
A Hm
and drink to the best o' the barley.
[Verse 3]
A D G D
My Uncle Jim, he could keep good time
A
when the band played an eightsome reel,
Hm ( D ) G D A
and loved to waltz away the summer nights,
D G D
and the spring in his step kept him in his prime,
A
through the turns of fortune's wheel
Hm D A D
as it spun him through the darkness and the light.
G D G D
And to dance a jig called history,
G D G D
Jim took the hand of the century,
Hm ( A D ) G D A
and he never let her steal a backward glance.
G D G D
From the D-Day beaches to the cold lake shore,
G D G D
he whirled her round and round the floor
Hm ( A D ) G D A
to show her how a Scotsman takes his chance,
Hm D A D
and he never missed a measure o' the dance.
[Chorus]
D ( A ) D A D
For he's the best o' the barley cream o' the crop.
G D A
Easy on the water and I'll tell you when to stop.
D
So would you please charge your glasses
F#m G
with the real pure drop,
A Hm
and drink to the best o' the barley.
G A Hm
Here's a health to the best o' the barley
G A D
To Scotland and the best o' the barley.
D G D
My uncle Jim he served his time
A
on the shore o' the Forth as a joiner
Hm ( A D ) G D A
and three pounds ten a week was all he earned
D G D
but the wages were better working Michigan pine
A
so he sailed on an ocean liner
Hm D A D
to build a better life with the trade he'd learned.
G D G D
And the shore he reached in twenty-three
G D G D
the home of the brave, the land o' the free
Hm ( A D ) G D A
was dry as the devil's tongue on Judgement Day
G D G D
but to find a dram in a foreign land
G D G D
it's the natural gift of a Falkirk man
Hm ( A D ) G D A
and Lady Liberty looked the other way
Hm D A D
or so I've always heard my uncle say:
[Chorus]
D ( A ) D A D
For he's the best o' the barley cream o' the crop.
G D A
Easy on the water and I'll tell you when to stop.
D
So would you please charge your glasses
F#m G
with the real pure drop,
A Hm
and drink to the best o' the barley.
[Verse 2]
A D G D
My Uncle Jim was a child of his time
A
and the tricks of the time they were dirty,
Hm ( D ) G D A
and the dirtiest of all was the one they played
D G D
on a workingman's dollar and a poor man's dime
A
between twenty-nine and thirty,
Hm D A D
for they killed all the steady jobs in the building trade.
G D G D
And the only way that Jim could see
G D G D
was to play the game with Lady Liberty
Hm ( A D ) G D A
though no one ever told him all the rules,
G D G D
and when fainter hearts were homeward bound
G D G D
Jim sold Michigan ice by the pound
Hm ( A D ) G D A
with a leather sling and an iron hook for tools
Hm D A D
just to show the Yankees how to keep their cool.
[Chorus]
D ( A ) D A D
For he's the best o' the barley cream o' the crop.
G D A
Easy on the water and I'll tell you when to stop.
D
So would you please charge your glasses
F#m G
with the real pure drop,
A Hm
and drink to the best o' the barley.
[Verse 3]
A D G D
My Uncle Jim, he could keep good time
A
when the band played an eightsome reel,
Hm ( D ) G D A
and loved to waltz away the summer nights,
D G D
and the spring in his step kept him in his prime,
A
through the turns of fortune's wheel
Hm D A D
as it spun him through the darkness and the light.
G D G D
And to dance a jig called history,
G D G D
Jim took the hand of the century,
Hm ( A D ) G D A
and he never let her steal a backward glance.
G D G D
From the D-Day beaches to the cold lake shore,
G D G D
he whirled her round and round the floor
Hm ( A D ) G D A
to show her how a Scotsman takes his chance,
Hm D A D
and he never missed a measure o' the dance.
[Chorus]
D ( A ) D A D
For he's the best o' the barley cream o' the crop.
G D A
Easy on the water and I'll tell you when to stop.
D
So would you please charge your glasses
F#m G
with the real pure drop,
A Hm
and drink to the best o' the barley.
G A Hm
Here's a health to the best o' the barley
G A D
To Scotland and the best o' the barley.
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