A girl is sent to buy the ‘messages’ in a shop, but she always meets with problems and often with a catastrophe. Some of the verses below are old and some have been made with children quite recently.

We sent her for eggs, oh aye, oh aye.
We sent her for eggs, oh aye, oh aye.
We sent her for eggs, and she fell and broke her legs.
Oh, the world must be comin tae an end, oh aye.

We sent her for cheese, and she fell and skint her knees.
We sent her for butter, and she dropped it in the gutter.
We sent her for spaghetti, she got eaten by a yeti.
We sent her for breid and she drapped doon deid
We sent her for jam and she brought back ham

These verses were made up by P4/5 at Errol Primary School.

We sent her for chips and a lion ate her lips
We sent her for garlic, she got zapped by a dalek
She went to a fair and got eaten by a bear
We sent her for mince and we haven't seen her since

When younger children sing this song, they sometimes form the letter ‘O’ with their forefinger and thumb, and 'I' with their forefinger, each time the letters are sung.

The pronunciation can be made more or less Scots as you choose.

Scottish songwriters working in schools often use this song to show pupils how to begin songwriting. Here are just a few of the other new verses that have been made up by children.

We sent her for honey, she forgot to take the money.
We sent her for breid, and she fell and split her heid.
We sent her for bacon, and her poor wee legs were achin.
We sent her for a bun, and she came back as a nun.
We sent her for toothpaste, and she fell over a loose lace.
We sent her for a biscuit, but she didny want tae risk it.
We sent her for toast, and she came back loast.
She tried to cross the road, and she turned into a toad.

'The World Must Be Comin Tae an End', performed by Ewan McVicar, with piano accompaniment from Katherine Campbell From Traditional Scottish Songs and Music, Gallus recordings.

'The World Must Be Comin Tae an End', performed more slowly and with an extra verse by Ewan McVicar, accompanying himself on guitar.

'The World Must Be Coming Tae an End', performed by children from Errol Primary School. From On The Hoof project - Horsecross Arts. More information is available on the Horsecross website.