author
David Rorie
1867–1946
A Scottish doctor who turned everyday speech, local folklore, and wartime experience into lively writing in Scots, he is best remembered for the song “The Lum Hat Wantin’ the Croon.” His work carries the humor, texture, and strong local feeling of the communities he knew best.
1 Audiobook
The Auld Doctor and other Poems and Songs in Scots
by David Rorie
About the author
Born in Edinburgh in 1867 and educated in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, he built a career in medicine while also becoming a well-known writer in Scots. Reliable biographical sources describe him as a doctor, folklorist, and poet, and note that his medical work in places such as Fife and Aberdeenshire gave him rich material for his poems and songs.
He served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War, and his writing drew on both public life and ordinary conversation. The Scottish Poetry Library notes that he was especially connected with rural life and mining communities, while other biographical records highlight his interest in traditional Scottish medicine and folklore.
Today he is chiefly remembered for “The Lum Hat Wantin’ the Croon” and for preserving the sound and character of Scots speech in his verse. He died on February 18, 1946.