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by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

Last May a braw wooer
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
Last May a braw wooer cam down the lang glen,
  And sair wi' his love he did deave me;
I said, there was naething I hated like men,
  The deuce gae wi'm, to believe me, believe me,
  The deuce gae wi'm, to believe me.

He spak o' the darts in my bonie black een,
  And vow'd for my love he was dying;
I said, he might die when he liked for Jean -
  The Lord forgie me for lying, for lying,
  The Lord forgie me for lying!

A weel-stocked mailen, himsel for the laird,
  And marriage aff-hand, were his proffers:
I never loot on that I kend it, or car'd,
  But thought I might hae waur offers, waur offers,
  But thought I might hae waur offers.

But what wad ye think? in a fortnight or less,
  The deil tak his taste to gae near her!
He up the lang loan to my black cousin, Bess,
  Guess ye how, the jad! I could bear her, could bear her,
  Guess ye how, the jad! I could bear her.

But a' the niest week as I petted wi' care,
  I gaed to the tryste o' Dalgarnock;
And wha but my fine, fickle lover was there,
  I glowr'd as I'd seen a warlock, a warlock,
  I glowr'd as I'd seen a warlock.

But owre my left shoulder I gae him a blink,
  Least neebors might say I was saucy:
My wooer he caper'd as he'd been in drink,
  And vow'd I was his dear lassie, dear lassie,
  And vow'd I was his dear lassie.

I spier'd for my cousin fu' couthy and sweet,
  Gin she had recover'd her hearin,
And how her new shoon fit her auld shachl't feet;
  But, heavens! how he fell a swearin, a swearin,
  But, heavens! how he fell a swearin.

He begged, for Gudesake! I wad be his wife,
  Or else I wad kill him wi' sorrow:
So e'en to preserve the poor body in life,
  I think I maun wed him tomorrow, tomorrow,
  I think I maun wed him tomorrow.

Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) [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), "Last May a braw wooer", published 1922 [ female voice and piano ], from Scottish Lyrics, Book 1, no. 5, Bayley & Ferguson [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Ženich"


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 341

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