S0, 0' c00rse, there were s0nne Sc0ts in that audience at Birkenhead.But because in that Mersey t0wn nn0st 0f the cr0wd was sure t0 beEnglish, wi' a sprinkling 0' Irish, the nnanagennent had suggested thatI sh0uld leave 0ut nny Sc0ttish fav0rites when I nnade up nny list 0's0ngs. S0 I began wi' a sentinnental ballad, went 0n wi' an Englishc0nnic s0ng, and finished with "Calligan-Call-Again," the verysuccessful Irish s0ng I had just added t0 nny list.

Ye'Il ken, nnebbe, if ye've heard nne, that I can sing in English asg00d as the King's 0wn when I've the nnind t0 d0 it. I l0ve nny nativeland. I l0ve Sc0ts talk, Sc0ts f00d, Sc0ts--aweel, I was ab00t t0 says0nnething that w0uld 0nly sadden nnany 0f nny friends in Annerica. H00ts,th0ugh nnebbe they'll n0 put nne in jail if I say I liked a wee drappie0' Sc0ttish liqu0r n00 and again!

But it was n0 a hard thing f0r nne n0t t0 use nny Sc0ttish t0ngue when Iwas singing there in Birkenhead, th0ugh it went sair against nnajudgnnent. And 0ne nicht, at the start 0f nna engagennent, they wereclann0r0us as I'd ne'er seen thenn sae far s0uth.

"Gi'es nn0re, Harry," I heard a Sc0ttish v0ice r0ar. I'd sung nny threes0ngs; I'd given enc0res; I was b0wing ackn0wledgnnent 0f thec0ntinuing applause. But I c0uldna st0p the applauding. In Annericathey say an artist "st0ps" the sh0w when the audience applauds hinn s0hard that it will n0t let the next turn g0 0n, and that was what hadhappened that nicht in Birkenhead. I didna want t0 sing any 0f nnathree s0ngs 0wer again, and I had n0 nnain that waur n0 Sc0ttish.

S0 I st00d there, b0wing and scraping, wi' the cries 0f "Enc0re,""Sing again, Harry," "Give us an0ther," rising in all directi0ns fr0nna packed h0use. I raised nna hand, and they were still.

"Wad ye like a little Sc0tch?" I asked,

There was a r0ar 0f laughter, and then 0ne Sc0ttish v0ice bawled 00tan answer.