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)
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