011 As I Went Out Ae May Morning

1.

As I went out ae May morning,

A May morning it chanc'd to be;

There I was aware of a weel-far'd maid,

Cam linkin o'er the lea to me.

2.

O but she was a weel-far'd maid,

The boniest lass that's under the sun;

I spier'd gin she could fancy me,

But her answer was, ‘I am too young.’

3.

‘To be your bride I am too young,

To be your loun wad shame my kin,

So therefore pray young man begone,

For you never, never shall my favour win.’

4.

But amang yon birks and hawthorns green,

Where roses blaw and woodbines hing,

O there I learn'd my bonie lass,

That she was not a single hour too young.

5.

The lassie blush'd, the lassie sigh'd,

And the tear stood twinklin in her e'e;

‘O kind Sir, since ye hae done me this wrang,

It's pray when will ye marry me.’

6.

‘It's of that day tak ye nae heed,

For that's ae day ye ne'er shall see;

For ought that pass'd between us twa,

Ye had your share as weel as me.’

7.

She wrang her hands, she tore her hair,

She cried out most bitterlie,

‘O what will I say to my mammie,

When I gae hame wi' a fause storie.’

8.

‘O as ye maut, so maun ye brew,

And as ye brew, so maun ye tun;

But come to my arms, my ae bonie lass,

For ye never shall rue what ye now hae done.’

Notes

Title As I Went Out Ae May Morning: When I Went Out One May Morning

Stanza 1

Line 2 chanc'd: chanced

Line 3 weel-far'd: well-favoured, lovely

Line 4 Cam linkin o'er the lea: came dancing over the meadow

Stanza 2

Line 3 spier'd gin: asked if; fancy: like

Stanza 3

Line 2 loun: fellow, partner; wad: would; shame: disgrace; kin: family and relatives

Line 3 begone: go away

Stanza 4

Line 1 birks: birches

Line 2 blaw: blow; hing: hang

Line 3 learn'd: learned (a euphemism for having sex with her)

Stanza 5

Line 1 sigh'd: sighed

Line 2 twinklin in her e'e: flashing in her eyes

Line 3 ye hae done me this wrang: you have done me this wrong

Stanza 6

Line 1 tak ye nae heed: you take no heed (attention)

Line 3 ought: anything; twa: two

Line 4 as weel as: as well as

Stanza 7

Line 2 bitterlie: bitterly

Line 3 mammie: mother

Line 4 gae hame: go home; fause storie: false story

Stanza 8

Line 1 maut: malt; maun: must; brew: brew wine with malt

The whole line means that you must reap what you sow.

Line 2 tun: cask, put…into a cask