The Corries - The Portree Kid lyrics

A man cam' riding oot the west one wild and stormy day He was tail, quiet and hungry, his eyes were smokey grey He was lean across the hurdies, but his shouders they were big The terror o' the hielan' glens that was the Portree Kid He drum ho he drum hey The teuchter that cam' frae Skye His sidekick was an orra' man, and oh but he was mean He was ca'ad the Midnight Ploughboy, and he cam' frae Aberdeen He had twenty seven notches on his cromack so they say And he 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 (Slangevar) While Midnight was being chatted up by a bar room girl called Pam Who said 'Well how-dy stranger, wad' ye buy's a Babycham' Now over in the corner sat three men frae Auchtertool They were playing games for money, in a snakes and ladder school The fourth man was a southerner who'd come up from Macmerry He'd been a river gambler on the Ballachulish Ferry He drum ho he drum hey The teuchter that cam' frae Skye 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 doing fine He'd landed on a ladder, he was up to forty nine He only had but one to go and the other man was beat But the gambler cowped the board over, 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 ayeways dunt the table, when I go tae throw my dice' He drum ho he drum hey The teuchter that cam' frae Skye The gambler drew his Skian 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 he 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 coming in' He drum ho he drum hey The teuchter that cam' frae Skye They sing this song in Galashiels and up by Peterheid Way down o'er the border. across the Rio Tweed About what became o Portree, Midnight and the Gambling Man They opened up a gift shop. selling fresh air in a can He drum ho he drum hey The teuchter that cam' frae Skye