by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
I am my mammy's ae bairn
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Our translations: FRE
I am my mammy's ae bairn,
Wi' unco folk I weary, sir;
And lying in a man's bed,
I'm fley'd it make me eerie1, sir.
I'm o'er young, I'm o'er young,
I'm o'er young to marry yet;
I'm o'er young, 'twad be a sin
To tak me frae my mammy yet.
My mammie coft me a new gown,
The kirk maun hae the gracing o’t;
Were I to lie wi’ you, kind Sir,
I’m feared ye’d spoil the lacing o’t.
I'm o'er young, I'm o'er young... etc.
Hallowmass is come and gane,
The nights are lang in winter, sir,
And you an' I in ae bed,
In trowth, I dare na venture, Sir.
I'm o'er young, I'm o'er young... etc.
Fu' loud and shill the frosty wind
Blaws thro' the leafless timmer, sir;
But if ye come this gate again,
I'll be aulder be gin simmer, sir.
I'm o'er young, I'm o'er young... etc.
J. Haydn sets stanzas 1, 3-4
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Burns, Robert, Poems and Songs. Vol. VI, The Harvard Classics. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909–14; Bartleby.com, 2001. www.bartleby.com/6/207.html.
1 sometimes spelled "irie"
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Song -- I'm o'er young to marry yet" [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 (Aynsley) Eugene Goossens, Sir (1893 - 1962), "I'm owre young to marry yet", op. 22c no. 2 (1918), published 1920 [ voice and piano ], from Two Scots Folksongs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "I'm o'er young to marry yet", JHW. XXXII/1 no. 30, Hob. XXXIa no. 30, stanzas 1,3-4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , no title, copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 23
Word count: 152