There’s a wee bit land

There's a wee bit land far ayon't the sea
It's a land that aye will be dear to me;
It's my dream by nicht an' my thoaht by day - 
It's a bonnie, bonnie country, but it's far away.

Bonnie, bonnie Scotland!
Scotland o'er the sea!
My heart is in bonnie Scotland
That's whaur my hame maun be.

There my fondest love and affections dwell, 
And the mem'ry still ev'ry scene can tell
O'er the pine clad hills I in fancy stray -
In that bonnie, bonnie country, that's sae far away.

Take me back once mair whaur I'd like to be
To my ain dear hame far ayon't the sea,
To the land I love, far I canna stay
Frae that bonnie, bonnie country, that's sae far away.

A song from the repertoire of Harry Lauder, which was later collected from the singing of Robin Hutchinson. The song was written and composed by John C Grieve (see below). Lauder introduced the song during his American tour of 1908 – this article appeared in several newspapers at the time:

When the Lusitania came home from New York, she had on board over 400 passengers, but the people who had shivered at the waterside for hours were interested in one passenger—Harry Lauder: “It’s a grand country.” he said about America. But I don’t want to live there for good. My heart lies in Scotland. I sang an American audience a verse about it one night; it ran like this:

There’s a wee bit land far ayont the sea
It’s a land that will aye be dear to me;
It’s my dream by night an’ my thochts by day –
My heart’s in bonny Scotland, where my hame maun be.“

Bingley Chronicle – 26 February 1909, p6

John Grieve was a Scottish writer and composer who specialised in writing musical plays for children (kinderspiel) – the Edinburgh Evening News, in reply to a query from a correspondent, published this short article:

The author of “There’s a Wee Bit Land” is JC Grieve. Mr Grieve resided in Newington, Edinburgh. He died about 15 years ago [ie in 1912], and was buried in Liberton Churchyard. Mr Grieve was a prolific writer and wrote about a dozen kinderspiels….. “There’s a Wee Bit Land” was originally published in the “Dan, the Newsboy” kinderspiel, which was very popular in its day. Sir Harry Lauder and Archie Anderson sang the song into popular favour.

Edinburgh Evening News, 06 May 1927, p6

A contemporary recording:

Sources:

• VWML entry
• Kilgarrif Sing Us
• Lyrics and Sheet Music: Irish Sheet Music Archive
• Sheet Music Cover: Univ Of York, YorkSpace
• British Newspaper Archive

Last Updated on July 4, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: July 4, 2023