Saturday 23 April 2011

Cuddle Doon

Tha follain aul poem wus gien tae me bye a freen o ma mither's. An it's gye apt.













'Cuddle Doon' - The bairnies
by
Alexander Anderson


The bairnies cuddle doon at nicht,
 Wi' muckle faucht an' din—
"O, try and sleep, ye waukrife rogues,
 Your faither's comin' in"—
They never heed a word I speak;
 I try to gi'e a froon,
But aye I hap them up, an' cry,
 "O, bairnies, cuddle doon."


Wee Jamie wi' the curly heid—
 He aye sleeps next the wa'—
Bangs up an' cries, "I want a piece"—
 The rascal starts them a'.
I rin an' fetch them pieces, drinks,
 They stop awee the soun',
Then draw the blankets up an' cry,
 "Noo, weanies, cuddle doon."


But ere five minutes gang, wee Rab
 Cries oot, frae 'neath the claes,
"Mither, mak' Tam gi'e owre at ance,
 He's kittlin' wi' his taes."
The mischief's in that Tam for tricks,
 He'd bother half the toon;
But aye I hap them up an' cry,
 "O, bairnies, cuddle doon."


At length they hear their faither's fit,
 An', as he steeks the door,
They turn their faces to the wa',
 While Tam pretends to snore.
"Ha'e a' the weans been gude?" he asks,
 As he pits aff his shoon.
"The bairnies, John, are in their beds,
 An' lang since cuddled doon."


An' just afore we bed oorsel's,
 We look at oor wee lambs;
Tam has his airm roun' wee Rab's neck,
 An' Rab his airm roun' Tam's.
I lift wee Jamie up the bed,
 An', as I straik each croon,
I whisper, till my heart fills up,
 "O, bairnies, cuddle doon."


The bairnies cuddle doon at nicht
 Wi' mirth that's dear to me;
But sune the big warl's cark an' care
 Will quaten doon their glee.
Yet, come what will to ilka ane,
 May He who rules aboon
Aye whisper, though their pows be bald,
 "O, bairnies, cuddle doon."



Abain is Cuddle Doon recited by Jean Weir (fae tha low country).


Meaning of the Scotch words:


muckle faught - lots of fighting
waukrife - wakeful
hap - wrap
aye - always
bairnies - children
a piece - bread sandwich
weanies - small children
gie ower - stop
kittlin - tickling
steek - closes
shoon - shoes
straik - stroke
cark - fret
ilka - each and every
aboon - above
pows - heads


Note: than wurds abine are fae a newspaper clipping gien tae me bye ma mother. Therefore I dinnae know wha tae attribute it tae.

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