by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
O steer her up, an' haud her gaun
Language: Scottish (Scots)
O steer her up, an' haud her gaun -- Her mither's at the mill, jo; An' gin she winna tak a man, E'en let her tak her will, jo. First shore her wi' a gentle kiss, And ca' anither gill, jo, An' gin she tak the thing amiss, E'en let her flyte her fill, jo. O steer her up, an' be na blate, An' gin she tak it ill , jo, Then leave the lassie till her fate, And time nae langer spill, jo! Ne'er break your heart for ae rebute, But think upon it still, jo, That gin the lassie winna do't, Ye'll find anither will, jo.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, edited by James Barke with an Introduction by John Cairney, Collins, Glasgow, 1995, Page 598.
See also Allan Ramsay's O steer her up, and had her gawin.
Glossaryjo = friend
shore = threaten
flyte = scold
blate = shy
spill = waste
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Steer her up", appears in Scots Musical Museum, Edinburgh, Johnson & Co, first published 1803 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "O steer her up", published 1949 [ voice and piano ], from 35 Scottish Lyrics and other Poems, no. 18, Bayley & Ferguson for The Saltire Society, Glasgow, page 78 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-06-16
Line count: 16
Word count: 107