Francis Sempill (c. 1616 – March 1682) was a Scottish poet, the son of Robert Sempill the younger. No details of his education are known. His fidelity to the Stuarts involved him in money difficulties, to meet which he alienated portions of his estates to his son. Before 1677 he was appointed sheriff-depute of

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

. He died at Paisley in March 1682. Sempill wrote many occasional pieces, and his fame as a wit was widespread. Among his most important works is the ''Banishment of Poverty'', which contains some biographical details. The Blythsome Wedding, long attributed to Francis Sempill, has been more recently asserted to be the work of

Sir William Scott of Thirlestane Sir William Scott, 2nd Baronet of Thirlestane (c.1670 – 8 October 1725) was a Scottish lawyer, known as a neo-Latin poet. Life He was the eldest son of Francis Scott, 1st Baronet of Thirlestane, Selkirkshire, and Lady Henrietta, daughter of ...

. Sempill's claim to the authorship of the celebrated song "She raise and let me in", and of the ballad "Maggie Lauder", has been discussed at considerable length. It seems probable that he had some share in both. "Maggie Lauder" is still fairly well known in Scotland. It has been performed by

The Corries The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne continued ...

and

Dick Gaughan Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters. Early years Gaughan was born in Glasgow's Roy ...

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