From :The GUN Awk User's Guide <book>
$ awk 'BEGIN { print "Here is a single quote <'"'"'>" }'
Here is a single quote <'>
Here is a single quote <'>
$awk 'BEGIN { print "Here is a single quote <'\''>" }'
Here is a single quote <'>
Here is a single quote <'>
$awk "BEGIN { print \"Here is a single quote <'>\" }"
Here is a single quote <'>
Here is a single quote <'>
$awk 'BEGIN { print "Here is a single quote <\47>" }'
Here is a single quote <'>
Here is a single quote <'>
$awk -v sq="'" 'BEGIN { print "Here is a single quote <" sq ">" }'
Here is a single quote <'>
Here is a single quote <'>