Calling Doon the Line. (The Piper’s Call)      © Alan G Brydon

The boys stood on the platform in 1917

Waiting for a train to Salisbury Plain

They were only in their teens.

A lad to his mother said dinnae fret

We’ll be home by Christmas day

And the piper played Scotland the Brave

As they waved the boys away

Chorus

Calling doon the line

Calling doon the line

And they rallied roond to the pipers tune

(that was) Calling doon the line

The Sgt Major pushed them hard

They were trained in only days

For to bear the brunt of the Western front

They would soon be on their way

So off they marched, rifles shoulder high

And all at once they sang

For we’re no awa, tae bide awa

Tae the pipers in the band

Chorus

The thunder echoed through the trench

As the shells abin them rained

And the generals spent a thousand men

For every inch they gained

And the brave young men faced their battle dawn

So proud to do their jobs

And the piper stood in the line of fire

And played them ower the top

Chorus

When no man’s land fell silent

And they counted all the dead

The victory claimed would disguise the shame

And nothing more was said

And the fallen brave on a foreign field

They gave their very best

And the piper played a sad lament

As they laid the boys to rest

Chorus

Chorus

And they rallied roond

Tae the pipers tune

That was calling doon

The line