The Lea Rig

The lea rig was that part of a field which was left in pasture, originating from the old practice of dividing land into strips which were shared among tenants occupying a farm. This system was called runrig from the Gaelic roinn-ruith meaning "division run". Nowadays, when we hear "runrig" we think of the well-known Gaelic rock group.

The tune comes from a very old song called The Lea-rig. All we have of the ancient song is a couple of verses, then Robert Fergusson (1750-74), the Edinburgh poet who greatly influenced Burns, added another two verses. Burns himself expanded the lyrics of the early song, but reportedly was not too happy with the results. His song is often known as My Ain Kind Dearie O.

The Lea Rig