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by Allan Cunningham (1784 - 1842)

There dwalt a man into the west
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
There dwalt a man into the west,
⁠And O gin he was cruel,
For on his bridal night at e'en
⁠He gat up and grat for gruel.
They brought to him a gude sheep head,
⁠A napkin and a towel:
Gar tak' thae whim-whams fer frae me,
⁠And bring to me my gruel.

But there's nae meal in a' the house,
⁠What will we do, my jewel?
Get up the powk and shake it out,
⁠I winna want my gruel.
But there's nae milk in a' the house,
⁠Nor yet a spunk o' fuel:
Gae warm it in the light o' the moon,
⁠I winna want my gruel.

O lake-a-day for my first wife,
⁠Wha was baith white and rosie,
She cheer'd me aye at e'ening fa'
⁠Wi' something warm and cozie:
Farewell to pleasant draps o' drink,
⁠To butter brose and gruel;
And farewell to my first sweet wife,
⁠My cannie Nancy Newell.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Allan Cunningham (1784 - 1842), "There dwalt a man" [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 Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "Gruel", published 1922 [ male voice and piano ], from Scottish Lyrics, Book 2, no. 9, Bayley & Ferguson [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2018-11-21
Line count: 24
Word count: 154

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