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by Allan Ramsay (1686 - 1758)

Steer her up, and had her gawin
Language: English 
O steer her up, and had her gawin,
Her mither's at the mill, jo;
But gin she winna tak a man, 
E'en let her tak her will, jo.
Pray thee, lad, leave silly thinking, 
Cast thy cares of love away;
Let's our sorrows drown in drinking, 
'Tis daffin langer to delay, jo.

See that shining glass of claret, 
How invitingly it looks;
Tak it aff, let's ha'e mair o't, 
Pox on sighing, trade, and books.
Let's ha'e mair pleasure while we're able, 
Bring us in the meikle bowl,
Place't on the middle of the table, 
And let the wind and weather growl.

See also Robert Burns's O steer her up, an' haud her gaun.

Glossary
Steer = stir, arouse to action
Had her gawin = keep her from going
Jo = sweetheart
Gin = if
Daffin = foolish
Meikle = large

Text Authorship:

  • by Allan Ramsay (1686 - 1758) [author's text not yet checked 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 (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "Steer her up, and had her gawin", JHW. XXXII/1 no. 78, Hob. XXXIa no. 78 [ sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2012-08-14
Line count: 16
Word count: 102

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