If you walk out that door, you ain’t coming back. And, you’re gonna be sorry. Everything you own in a box to the left, etc.

“Head, heart, and soul, we want you to stay,” British Prime Minister David Cameron pleaded with Scottish voters, but not without offering a stark warning about exactly what leaving the UK could mean for the country and its citizens.

The prime minister, whose voice was close to breaking with emotion, travelled to Scotland for his final visit before the referendum to spell out in clear terms the exact costs of independence. In language that was blunter than the soft tones of his appearance in Edinburgh last week, the prime minister said: “It is my duty to be clear about the likely consequences of a yes vote. Independence would not be a trial separation. It would be a painful divorce.”

Cameron said listed the benefits of UK membership that the people of Scotland would lose after a yes vote. Scotland would lose: a shared currency with the rest of the UK; armed forces “we built up over centuries”; pension funds that would be sliced up – “at some cost”. Independence would also mean borders would become international and more than half of Scottish mortgages suddenly be provided by banks in a foreign country.

The prime minister warned people not to be fooled by the promises of the SNP which was good, he said, at painting a positive picture. He said: “I also know that the people who are running the yes campaign are painting a picture of a Scotland that is better in every way, and they can be good at painting that picture. But when something looks too good to be true, that’s usually because it is.”

If Scotland voters are looking for a little respect, sweet talk, and a few concrete concessions from Britain, this speech delivered. It also ended with a sweet bit of honest humility, which I’m trying to imagine an American politician uttering:

“If you don’t like me, I won’t be here forever. If you don’t like this government. It won’t last forever. But iIf you leave the UK, that will be forever. Vote to stick together. Vote to stay. Vote to save our United Kingdom.”

The vote is on Thursday.