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by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

O that I had ne'er been married
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
O that I had ne'er been married,
I wad never had nae care,
now I've gotten wife an' weans,
an' they cry 'Crowdie' evermair.

Chorus:
 Ance crowdie, twice crowdie,
 three times crowdie in a day
 gin ye crowdie ony mair,
 ye'll crowdie a' my meal away.

Waefu' Want and Hunger fley me,
glowrin' by the hallan en';
Sair I fecht them at the door,
But aye I'm eerie they come ben.
Ance crowdie, &c.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "O that I had ne'er been married" [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "Crowdie", published 1922 [ male voice and piano ], from Scottish Lyrics, Book 2, no. 7, Bayley & Ferguson [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2011-06-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 74

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