Traditional Scottish Songs
- Woo Me Again
Ebenezer Picken (1769-1816) was the only son of a silk-weaver in Paisley. He attended Glasgow University with the intention of eventually becoming a minister of the church - but spent too much time writing and performing poetry - and became a school teacher instead. He intended continuing his studies for the ministry - but marriage and a family put paid to that. "Woo Me Again" has a touch of humour about it, though it finishes with some useful advice about life and love.
Woo Me Again
Whan Jamie first woo'd me, he was but a youth:
Frae his lips flow'd the strains o' persuasion and truth;
His suit I rejected wi' pride an' disdain,
But, oh! wad he offer to woo me again!He aft wad hae tauld me his love was sincere,
And e'en wad hae ventured to ca' me his dear:
My heart to his tale was as hard as a stane;
But, oh! wad he offer to woo me again!He said that he hoped I would yield an' be kind,
But I counted his proffers as light as the wind;
I laugh'd at his grief, whan I heard him complain;
But, oh! wad he offer to woo me again!He flatter'd my locks, that war black as a slae,
And praised my fine shape, frae the tap to the tae;
I flate, an' desired he wad let me alane;
But, oh! wad he offer to woo me again!Repulsed, he forsook me, an' left me to grieve,
An' mourn the sad hour that my swain took his leave;
Now, since I despised, an' was deaf to his maen,
I fear he'll ne'er offer to woo me again!Oh! wad he but now to his Jean be inclined,
My heart in a moment wad yield to his mind;
But I fear wi' some ither my laddie is taen,
An' sae he'll ne'er offer to woo me again.Ye bonnie young lasses, be warn'd by my fate,
Despise not the heart you may value too late;
Improve the sweet sunshine that now gilds the plain;
With you it may never be sunshine again.The simmer o' life, ah! it soon flits awa',
An' the bloom on your cheek will soon dow in the snaw;
Oh! think, ere you treat a fond youth wi' disdain,
That, in age, the sweet flower never blossoms again.Meaning of unusual words:
wad = would
slae = blackthorn berry
flate = scolded
sae = so
dow = wither
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