Remembering Wee Willie Winkie

On 2 September a new memorial was unveiled on the wall of Tennents’ Brewery, Duke Street, Glasgow, to Scots language writer William Miller (1810-72) and his most famous composition ‘Wee Willie Winkie’. The children’s nursery rhyme in Scots was first published in ‘Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fireside’ in the year 1841 and soon proved popular. Millar was a Glaswegian and Scots was still the native language of most Glasgow people in that period. The richness of the Scots then current in Glasgow is well illustrated by the rhyme. The author is buried in an unmarked grave at Tollcross Cemetery. Tennants’ Brewery stands on the site of Miller’s former home which is why it was chosen for the memorial. The original text of ‘Wee Willie Winkie’ – from 1841 – is reproduced below. The spellings ‘town’ and ‘gown’ ‘now’ ‘round’ and ‘about’ should be pronounced as ‘toon’, ‘goon’, ‘noo’, ‘roon’ and ‘aboot’.

Wee Willie Winkie rins through the town,
Up stairs and doon stairs in his nicht-gown,
Tirling at the window, cryin' at the lock,
Are the weans in their bed, for it's now ten o'clock?
Hey, Willie Winkie, are ye coming ben?
The cat's singing grey thrums to the sleeping hen,
The dog's spelder'd on the floor, and disna gi'e a cheep,
But here's a waukrife laddie! that winna fa' asleep!"
Onything but sleep, you rogue! glow'ring like the mune,
Rattling in an airn jug wi' an airn spoone,
Rumbling, tumbling round about, crawing like a cock,
Skirlin' like a kenna-what, wauk'ning sleeping fock.
"Hey, Willie Winkie - the wean's in a creel!
Wambling aff a bodie's knee like a very eel,
Ruggin' at the cat's lug, and raveling a' her thrums-
Hey, Willie Winkie - see, there he comes!"
Wearied is the mither that has a stoorie wean,
A wee stumple stoussie, that canna rin his lane,
That has a battle aye wi' sleep before he'll close an ee-
But a kiss frae aff his rosy lips gi'es strength anew to me.