by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
There's news, lasses, news
Language: Scottish (Scots)
There's news, lasses, news, Gude news I've to tell, There's a boatfu' o' lads Come to our town to sell. The wean wants a cradle, An' the cradle wants a cod, An' I'll no gang to my bed, Until I get a nod. Father, quo' she, Mither, quo she, Do what you can, I'll no gang to my bed, Till I get a man. The wean wants a cradle, An' the cradle wants a cod, An' I'll no gang to my bed, Until I get a nod. I hae as gude a craft rig As made o' yird and stane; And waly fa' the ley-crap, For I maun till't again. The wean wants a cradle, An' the cradle wants a cod, An' I'll no gang to my bed, Until I get a nod.
Confirmed with The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, edited by James Barke with an Introduction by John Cairney, Collins, Glasgow, 1995, Page 609.
Glossary
wean = child
cod = pillow
craft rig = croft house
yird = earth
ley-crap = pasture
maun till'd = must plough it
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "There's News, Lasses, News", 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), "There's news, lasses, news", published 1949 [ voice and piano ], from 35 Scottish Lyrics and other Poems, no. 20, Bayley & Ferguson for The Saltire Society, Glasgow, page 81 [sung text checked 1 time]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-06-16
Line count: 24
Word count: 133