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| O, SAIRLY 1 may I rue the day | |
| I fancied first the womenkind; | |
| For aye sinsyne I ne’er can hae | |
| Ae quiet thought or peace o’ mind! | |
| They hae plagued my heart an’ pleased my e’e, | 5 |
| An’ teased an’ flattered me at will, | |
| But aye for a’ their witcherye, | |
| The pawky things I lo’e them still. | |
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| O the women fo’k! O the women fo’k! | |
| But they hae been the wreck o’ me; | 10 |
| O weary fa’ the women fo’k, | |
| For they winna let a body be! | |
| |
| I hae thought an’ thought, but darena tell, | |
| I ’ve studied them wi’ a’ my skill, | |
| I ’ve lo’d them better than mysell, | 15 |
| I ’ve tried again to like them ill. | |
| Wha sairest strives, will sairest rue, | |
| To comprehend what nae man can; | |
| When he has done what man can do, | |
He ’ll end at last where he began.
O the women fo’k, etc. | 20 |
| |
| That they hae gentle forms an’ meet, | |
| A man wi’ half a look may see; | |
| An gracefu’ airs, an’ faces sweet, | |
| An’ waving curls aboon the bree; | |
| An’ smiles as soft as the young rosebud, | 25 |
| And een sae pawky, bright, an’ rare, | |
| Wad lure the laverock frae the cludd,— | |
But, laddie, seek to ken nae mair!
O the women fo’k, etc. | |
| |
| Even but this night nae farther gane, | |
| The date is neither lost nor lang, | 30 |
| I tak ye witness ilka ane, | |
| How fell they fought, and fairly dang. | |
| Their point they ’ve carried right or wrang, | |
| Without a reason, rhyme, or law, | |
| An’ forced a man to sing a sang, | 35 |
| That ne’er could sing a verse ava. | |
| |
| O the women fo’k! O the women fo’k! | |
| But they hae been the wreck o’ me; | |
| O weary fa’ the women fo’k, | |
| For they winna let a body be! | 40 |
