Poems by Robert Nicoll Second edition: with numerous additions, and a memoir of the author |
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IT'S NAE FUN, THAT!
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 | Poems by Robert Nicoll |  |
242
IT'S NAE FUN, THAT!
ANE CANTIE SANG.
Ye may laugh brawly i' the now,
Ye may joke as you like;
But ye shouldna say the hinnie's good
Afore ye tak' the bike.
Love does weel eneugh to joke about
When comes the gloamin' bat;
But marriage is an awfu' thing:—
It's nae fun, that!
Ye may joke as you like;
But ye shouldna say the hinnie's good
Afore ye tak' the bike.
Love does weel eneugh to joke about
When comes the gloamin' bat;
But marriage is an awfu' thing:—
It's nae fun, that!
We twa are geyan young yet,
We ha'ena meikle gear,
And, if glaikitly we yokit,
We wad aye be toilin' sair;
Maybe poverty wad mak' us
Like our collie and the cat:—
An' tearfu' een and scartit lugs—
It's nae fun, that!
We ha'ena meikle gear,
And, if glaikitly we yokit,
We wad aye be toilin' sair;
Maybe poverty wad mak' us
Like our collie and the cat:—
An' tearfu' een and scartit lugs—
It's nae fun, that!
243
The men are in a hurry aye—
Will ye gi'e a body time?
And yet, I needna forward look,
I canna see a styme;
To gi'e a body's sel' awa'
For—'od! I kenna what,
It gars a thoughtless lassie think—
It's nae fun, that!
Will ye gi'e a body time?
And yet, I needna forward look,
I canna see a styme;
To gi'e a body's sel' awa'
For—'od! I kenna what,
It gars a thoughtless lassie think—
It's nae fun, that!
And now the cloud is on your brow,
I shouldna vex you sae;
Yet in my last free maiden hour,
Why mind you what I say?
My first love and my last are you,
My lassie's heart you caught—
O! guess my love by what ye feel—
It's nae fun, that!
I shouldna vex you sae;
Yet in my last free maiden hour,
Why mind you what I say?
My first love and my last are you,
My lassie's heart you caught—
O! guess my love by what ye feel—
It's nae fun, that!
It may not be out of place here to state the circumstances under which the above “cantie sang” was written. In a company, one evening, in Edinburgh, where Mr. Nicoll was present, a young lady was very much rallied on the subject of marriage; till, thinking that the joke was carried a little too far, she put an end to the teasing by exclaiming —“It's nae fun, that!”—a phrase which at once caught the humour of the poet, and the song was produced that same night.
| Poems by Robert Nicoll | |