The Book of Scottish Song/The Lasses a' leugh

The Lasses a’ leugh.

[Air, "Kist yestreen."—The first stanza of this song was a fragment which Tannahill left: the rest was added by Alex. Rodger.]

The lasses a' leugh, and the carlin flate,
But Maggie was sitting fu' ourie and blate,
The auld silly gawkie, she couldna contain,
How brawly she was kist yestreen;
Kist yestreen, kist yestreen,
How brawly she was kist yestreen;
She blethered it round to her fae an' her freen,
How brawly she was kist yestreen.

She loosed the white napkin frae 'bout her dun neck,
An' cried, The big sorrow tak' lang Geordie Fleck!
D'ye see what a scart I gat frae a preen,
By his towsling an' kissing at me yestreen;
At me yestreen, at me yestreen.
By his towsling an' kissing at me yestreen;
I canna conceive what the fallow could mean,
By his kissing sae meikle at me yestreen.

Then she pu'd up her sleeve an' shawed a blae mark,
Quo' she, I gat that frae young Davy our clark,
But the creature had surely forgat himsel' clean,
Then he nipt me sae hard for a kiss yestreen,
For a kiss yestreen, for a kiss yestreen,
When he nipt me sae hard for a kiss yestreen;
I wonder what keepit my nails frae his een,
When he nipt me sae hard for a kiss yestreen.

Then she held up her cheek, an' cried. Foul fa' the laird,
Just leuk what I gat wi' his black birsie beard,
The vile filthy body! was e'er the like seen?
To rub me sae sair for a kiss yestreen;
For a kiss yestreen, for a kiss yestreen;
To rub me sae sair for a kiss yestreen,
I'm sure that nae woman o' judgment need green
To be rubbit, like me, for a kiss yestreen.

Syne she tald what grand offers she aften had had,
But wad she tak' a man?—na, she wasna sae mad,
For the hale o' the sex she cared na a preen,
An' she hated the way she was kissed yestreen;
Kist yestreen, kist yestreen;
She hated the way she was kist yestreen;
'Twas a mercy that naithing mair serious had been,
For it's dangerous whiles to be kissed at e'en.

---