The Carle He Cam' Ower The Craft
Scottish Song
The Carle He Cam' Ower The Craft (also known as The Carl Cam' Ower The Croft, The Carl Cam' He Came Ower The Croft, Carl Cam Our Craft and The Carle) is a song found in Ramsay's Tea-Table Miscellany.The Carle Also appears in The Book of Scottish Song (1843) edited by Alexander Whitelaw and there is also an older version of the same song given in Thomson's Orpheus Caledonius, published in 1725.
Related Scottish Country Dances
Carl Cam' Ower The CroftThe Carle From The Book Of Scottish Song
Wi' his beard new-shaven;
He looked at me as he'd been daft,-
The carle trowed that I wad ha'e him.
Hout awa'! I winna ha'e him!
Na, forsooth, I winna ha'e him!
For a' his beard new-shaven,
Ne'er a bit o' me will ha'e him.
A siller brooch he ga'e me neist,
To fasten on my curchie nookit.
I wore 't a wee upon my breist,
But soon, alake! the tongue o't crookit;
And sae may his; I winna ha'e him!
Na, forsooth, I winna ha'e him!
Twice-a-bairn's a lassie's jest;
Sae ony fool for me may ha'e him.
The carle has nae fault but ane;
For he has land and dollars plenty;
But, waes me for him, skin and bane
Is no for a plump lass of twenty.
Hout awa', I winna ha'e him!
Na, forsooth, I winna ha'e him!
What signifies his dirty riggs,
And cash, without a man wi' them?
But should my cankert daddie gar
Me tak' him 'gainst my inclination,
I warm the fumbler to beware
That antlers dinna claim their station.
Hout awa'! I winna ha'e him!
Na, forsooth, I winna ha'e him!
I'm fleyed to crack the holy band,
Sae lawty says, I should na hae him.
The Carle He Cam' Ower The Croft, From Glen Collection Of Printed Music, A Collection Of Scots Songs, Page 215, c. 1733
The Online Scots Dictionary Translate Scots To English.
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original The Book Of Scottish Song/The Carle article on Wikisource.
Image copyright (cropped) https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/91485667 under this Creative Commons Licence 4.0.
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