Chancellor Inglis - Edinburgh University - 19th Century

Dr. Pitt-Payne in London UK - 05 Sept 2001

I'm pass'd, I'm pass'd
and capp'd at last,
I'm qualified and free now,
on pasteboard neat,
or brass doorplate,
to write myself M. B. now.
I'm full of joy,
without alloy,
and my whole frame
with pleasure tingles,
for in gown and in hood,
I've been capp'd by the good
and magic hand
of Chancellor Inglis!

How proud my mien
when I hear the Dean
proclaim my name and nation!
How swells my heart
when I play my part
in this great graduation!
For there's one with a pair
of blue eyes fair,
who from the rest
my figure singles,
and feels as if she
were a bit of me,
when I am capped by
Chancellor Inglis.

How pleasant the tap
of the velvet cap,
which old tradition teaches
was made from the rear
of a halfused pair
of George Buchanan's breeches.
I don't know well
if in this tale
the mythic with historic mingles
but the cap is a fact
and so is the tact
of the erudite hand of
Chancellor Inglis!

I yet know not
upon what spot
in practice I may settle,
or if folks will see,
as they should in me,
a man of sterling metal.
But when the due
fees shall accrue,
and the sovereign
with the shilling jingles,
its pleasant little chime
will recall the time
of the magic touch of
Chancellor Inglis!

My future home
may be in some
of England's rich domains now,
or in the North,
beyond the Forth,
among the mountain chains now;
Or it may by
the Borders lie,
'Mong Johnstones, Elliotts,
Scotts and Pringles;
But where ever it be,
I'll teach them to see
the worth of the man
that was capped by Inglis.

And who shall say,
but some fine day,
when practice then increases,
to my door there may come
a neat little brougham,
and pair with smartish paces;
and when folks spy
my nags go by,
their collars, traces,
reins, surcingles,
they'll say without a doubt,
that's a smart turnout
of the man that was capped by
Chancellor Inglis!

And when I may,
on holiday,
enjoy release from duty,
with a sweet little wife,
the charm of my life,
admiring nature's beauty;
then when we roam,
away from home,
in sunny fields or bosky dingles,
we'll both of us know
that the pleasure we owe
to the magic touch of
Chancellor Inglis!

Now long may he
our Chancellor be;
Now let the glasses clatter
to his health, and the fame
of the ancient dame
that is our Alma Mater;
And as the Tay
and mighty Spey
flow fullstreamed
over rocks and shingles,
let the red wine now
in the rivers flow
to the jolly good health
of Chancellor Inglis!

Soft karaoke
Words
treble clef 1
treble clef 2
lyric line
bass
Lyric Line
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Chancellor Inglis - 19th Century

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Chancellor Inglis - 19th Century
words by Sir Douglas MacLagan
Air - 'Kate Dalrymple'
sequenced for Piano by Dr. Pitt-Payne in London UK
on Wednesday 05 Sept 2001 at 17.13
in association with Doug Grierson
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© James Pitt-Payne, London UK, 2001
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