Scots Abroad - McCalmans

They built the bridges and the tunnels

Climbed the hills that bear their names

Always first to charge in battle

And the first to charge again

You can recognise their accent

And they’ll tell you that you’re wrong, but

There is no mistaking where they’re from

In the middle of the deepest jungle

There they are again

I flew across to China

And they met me off the plane

Wherever they may live

Well, they look like they belong, but

There is no mistaking where they’re from

They’re from the streets of Aberdeen and the small border town

From the Hebridean Islands and all the country round

They travelled to a new land and they sing a different song, but

There is no mistaking where they’re from

There’s a nurse at the mission

With a doctor standing by

The old man in the corner

With a sad, whisky eye

The tea-planter's widow

She’s been waiting here so long, but

There is no mistaking where they’re from

Some are good, some are bad

The angels and the thieves

The explorer, who finds the land

And never, ever leaves

The weary adventurer

Who just keeps moving on, but

There is no mistaking where they’re from

They’re from the streets of Aberdeen and the small border town

From the Hebridean Islands and all the country round

They travelled to a new land and they sing a different song, but

There is no mistaking where they’re from

They’re the ones who write the stories

And they never hesitate

To face up to the challenges

And punch above their weight

They live in every country

And they look like they belong, but

There is no mistaking where they’re from

They’re from the streets of Aberdeen and the small border town

From the Hebridean Islands and all the country round

They travelled to a new land and they sing a different song, but

There is no mistaking where they’re from

They’re from the streets of Aberdeen and the small border town

From the Hebridean Islands and all the country round

They travelled to a new land and they sing a different song, but

There is no mistaking where they’re from

There is no mistaking where they’re from

There is no mistaking where they’re from