The Corries - Portree Kid lyrics

A man came ridin' oot the west one wild and stormy day He was quiet lean and hungry, his eyes were smoky grey He was lean across the hurdies but his shooders they were big The terror o' the Hielan glens, that was The Portree Kid (chorus) He drum ho, he drum hey The teuchter that cam frae Skye (chorus) His sidekick was an orra' man and oh but he was mean He was ca'd The Midnight Plough-Boy and he cam fae Aberdeen He had twenty seven notches on his cromack so they say And k**ed a million Indians, way up in Stornoway Portree booted in the door, he sauntered tae the bar He poured a shot o' crabbies, he shouted "Slainte Mhath" While midnight was being chatted up by a bar room girl called Pam Who said well howdy stranger, would you buy's a babycham Now over in the corner sat three men fae Auchtertool They were playing games for money, in a snakes and ladders school The fourth man was a southerner who'd come up from Macmerry He'd been a river gambler, on the Ballachulish Ferry (chorus) Portree walked tae the table and he shouted shake me in He shoogled on the eggcup, he gave the dice a spin He threw seven sixes in a row and the game was nearly done But then he landed on a snake, and finished on square one The game was nearly over and Portree was daein fine He'd landed on a ladder, he was up tae forty nine He only had but one to go and the other man was beat But the gambler couped the board off, and shouted you're a cheat Men dived behind the rubber plants to try and save their skins The accordionist stopped playing, his sidekick dropped the spoons He says I think its funny, you've been up that ladder twice And ye a'ways dunt the table, when I go to throw my dice (chorus) The gambler drew his Sgian Dubh as fast as lightning speed Portree grabbed a screwtop, he cracked him o'er the heid Then he gave him laldy wi' a salmon off the wall And he finished off the business, wi' his lucky grousefoot's claw Portree walked up tae the bar, he says I'll hae a half And d'ye like the way I stuck it on that wee Macmerry nyaff But the Southerner crept up behind his features wracked wi' pain And gubbed him wi' an ashtray, made oot o' a curling stane The fight went raging on all night till opening time next day Wi' a break for soup and stovies aff a coronation tray It was getting kind o' obvious, that neither man would win When came the shout that stopped it all, there's a bus trip comin' in (chorus) They sing this song in Galashiels and up by Peterheid Way down o'er the border, across the Rio Tweed But what became o' Portree, Midnight and the gamblin' man, They opened up a gift shop selling fresh air in a can (chorus) Frae Skye Frae Skye Frae Skye Frae Skye