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by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

The tailor fell thro' the bed
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
The Tailor fell thro' the bed, thimble an' a',
The Tailor fell thro' the bed, thimble an' a';
The blankets were thin, and the sheets they were sma',
The Tailor fell thro' the bed, thimble an' a'!

The sleepy bit lassie, she dreaded nae ill,
The sleepy bit lassie, she dreaded nae ill;
The weather was cauld, and the lassie lay still,
She thought that a tailor could do her nae ill!

Gie me the groat again, canny young man!
Gie me the groat again, canny young man!
The day it is short, and the night it is lang -
The dearest siller that ever I wan!

There's somebody weary wi' lying her lane,
There's somebody weary wi' lying her lane!
There's some that are dowie, I trow would be fain
To see the bit tailor come skippin again.

Confirmed with The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, edited by James Barke with an Introduction by John Cairney, HarperCollins, Glasgow, 1995, page 497.


Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The Tailor fell thro' the bed" [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), "The tailor fell thro' the bed", published 1936 [ baritone and piano ], from Scottish Lyrics, Book 4, no. 1, Bayley & Ferguson [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2018-11-27
Line count: 16
Word count: 138

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