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Document 786

Dipper: 25 - The Doukie

Author(s): Dr James A Begg

Copyright holder(s): Dr James A Begg

Audio transcription

M623 The Doukie

Some wad say the bairns are lucky
Tae be cairtit frae the schule,
An learn the wey tae dive an soum
In a brent new indoor puil,
Wi heich gless waas an fancy rules
- 'Ye cannae throw that baa!'
An chlorinated watter
Tae keep the germs awa

Withoot a dout they hae their fun,
Wi loupin splash an yell,
Whit's mair forbye, if truth be tellt,
I hae some fun mysel!
But I aye think back on boyhood days
Whan soumin puils we'd nane,
Syne doun the burn on a simmer morn
We'd gang an mak oor ain.

We'd lippen on a likely puil,
Pou aff oor socks an shune,
 Oor troosers, sarks an semmits tae,
An syne get yokit in
Tae big a dyke o sods an stanes
Across its shalla tail,
An mak it baith sae braid an deep
'Twad gey near float a whale!

Then clarty weans, frae heid tae fuit
Aa slairit ower wi glaur,
Wi gleefu yells wad lowp richt in
An splash - - an gin they daur
The gallus yins wad tak a dive
Heid-furst frae aff the bank,
While ithers mebbe no sae guid
Juist swam twa strokes an sank!

Sic capers in the burn ere lang
Shuin syned aff aa the mud,
Some laddies wore their bathin-suits
An ithers doukt bare-scud;
But whiles the lassies came alang
An stymied siclike ploys,
An garrd the lads stert showin-aff
Wi daffin, dirlin noise.

Some chiels wad dae the back-stroke,
While ithers for a lark
Wad soum ablow the watter,
Like submarine or shark;
Or mebbe try a haun-staun,
Or daft-like duggie-paidle,
An shuin the kirstal-rinnin burn
Wis steirt up's thick as aidle!

But whiles we doukt an cairrit oan
Ilk body there wis gleg,
Whan a beastie happt on someyin's back
The cry went up - 'A cleg!'
Wi that we aa dived doun ablow,
Steikt nebs an haudin braith,
An whan we rose abune yince mair,
The cleg wis drount tae daith!

We'd soum awa the lee-lang day
At breist-stroke or the crawl,
Till yin an aa, baith big an smaa,
Wis chitterin wi the cauld;
Then courit-doun by a roarin fire,
Set roun-aboot wi stanes,
Wi ootstreitcht hauns we'd sit an talk,
An warm oor cauldrife banes.

Abune the Waa-heids tae the West
The sun sank doun fou low,
The heat went oot o sun an fire,
An nou 't wis time to go.
Forfochen, happy, hame we went,
Deid-weirit wi oor play,
 Ye can keep new-farrant soumin puils
- Gie's a Doukie ony day!

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APA Style:

Dipper: 25 - The Doukie. 2026. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 21 February 2026, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=786.

MLA Style:

"Dipper: 25 - The Doukie." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2026. Web. 21 February 2026. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=786.

Chicago Style

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "Dipper: 25 - The Doukie," accessed 21 February 2026, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=786.

If your style guide prefers a single bibliography entry for this resource, we recommend:

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. 2026. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk.

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Information about Document 786

Dipper: 25 - The Doukie

Audio

Audio audience

General public
For gender Mixed
Audience size 1000+

Audio awareness & spontaneity

Speaker awareness Aware
Degree of spontaneity Fully scripted

Audio footage information

Original title The Dipper an the Three Wee Deils
Year of recording 1993
Recording person id 752
Size (min) 3
Size (mb) 11

Audio footage publication details

Published
Publisher/Broadcaster Scotsoun
Publication/Broadcast date 1993-01-01
Place of publication/broadcast Glasgow

Audio medium

Radio/audio

Audio setting

Leisure/entertainment
Private/personal

Audio relationship between recorder/interviewer and speakers

Friend
Speakers knew each other Yes

Audio speaker relationships

Friend
Other Co-authors of book from which recording was made

Audio transcription information

Title of original The Dipper an the Three Wee Deils
Transcriber id 689
Year of transcription 2005
Year material recorded 1993
Word count 447

Audio transcription publication details

Published
Publisher/Broadcaster Luath Press
Publication/Broadcast date 1991-01-01
Place of publication/broadcast Barr, Ayrshire
ISBN/ISSN 0946487227

Audio type

Poetry reading/song/ballad performance
General description From a recording of a selection of short stories and prize winning poems (Scottish National Open Poetry Competition)

Author

Author details

Author id 623
Title Dr
Forenames James
Initials A
Surname Begg
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment University
Age left school 17
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation Medical Practitioner
Place of birth New Cumnock
Region of birth S Ayr
Birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Ayr
Region of residence S Ayr
Residence CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Clerical Officer, NCB
Father's place of birth Sandbank
Father's region of birth Argyll
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Arg
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Primary Teacher
Mother's place of birth New Cumnock
Mother's region of birth S Ayr
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
Danish No No No No A little
English Yes Yes Yes Yes Home, socially, at work
French Yes Yes Yes Yes Holidaying in France
Norwegian No No No No A little
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes Home, socially, at work

Participant

Participant details

Participant id 623
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment University
Age left school 17
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation Medical Practitioner
Place of birth New Cumnock
Region of birth S Ayr
Birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Ayr
Region of residence S Ayr
Residence CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Clerical Officer, NCB
Father's place of birth Sandbank
Father's region of birth Argyll
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Arg
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Primary Teacher
Mother's place of birth New Cumnock
Mother's region of birth S Ayr
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
Danish No No No No A little
English Yes Yes Yes Yes Home, socially, at work
French Yes Yes Yes Yes Holidaying in France
Norwegian No No No No A little
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes Home, socially, at work

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