The Braw Wooer
Scottish Song By Robert Burns
The Braw Wooer is a Scottish song written by Robert Burns in 1795 and sung to the tune The Lothian Lassie."The Braw Wooer" is Scots for "The Brave Lover" and the song is about a rich laird and a conniving young lassie.
Related Scottish Country Dances
The Braw WooerThe Braw Wooer By Robert Burns
And sair wi' his love he did deave me;
I said, there was naething I hated like men-
The deuce gae wi'm, to believe me, believe me;
The deuce gae wi'm to believe me.
He spak o' the darts in my bonie black e'en,
And vow'd for my love he was diein,
I said, he might die when he likèd for Jean-
The Lord forgie me for liein, for liein;
The Lord forgie me for liein!
A weel-stocked mailen, himsel' for the laird,
And marriage aff-hand, were his proffers;
I never loot on that I kenn'd it, or car'd;
But thought I might hae waur offers, waur offers;
But thought I might hae waur offers.
But what wad ye think?-in a fortnight or less-
The deil tak his taste to gae near her!
He up the Gate-slack to my black cousin, Bess-
Guess ye how, the jad! I could bear her, could bear her;
Guess ye how, the jad! I could bear her.
But a' the niest week, as I petted wi' care,
I gaed to the tryst o' Dalgarnock;
But wha but my fine fickle wooer was there,
I glowr'd as I'd seen a warlock, a warlock,
I glowr'd as I'd seen a warlock.
But owre my left shouther I gae him a blink,
Lest neibours might say I was saucy;
My wooer he caper'd as he'd been in drink,
And vow'd I was his dear lassie, dear lassie,
And vow'd I was his dear lassie.
I spier'd for my cousin fu' couthy and sweet,
Gin she had recover'd her hearin',
And how her new shoon fit her auld schachl't feet,
But heavens! how he fell a swearin, a swearin,
But heavens! how he fell a swearin.
He beggèd, for gudesake, I wad be his wife,
Or else I wad kill him wi' sorrow;
So e'en to preserve the poor body in life,
I think I maun wed him to-morrow, to-morrow;
I think I maun wed him to-morrow.
The Braw Wooer Song Video
The Braw Wooer Song - Information Video
The Braw Wooer, From A Study In Tone-Poetry, Printed Music, c. 1903
The Online Scots Dictionary Translate Scots To English.
Published in https://www.robertburns.org/works/the-braw-wooer/
Published in http://www.robertburnsfederation.com/poems/translations/last_may_a_braw_wooer.htm (with translation).
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Text from this original The Braw Wooer article on Wikisource.
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