The Brisk Young Lad

first published in1776

There cam a young man tae ma daddie's door
Ma daddie's door, ma daddie's door,
There cam a young man tae ma daddie's door
Come seekin me tae woo-o

Wow, but he was a bonnie young lad,
a brisk young lad an a braw young lad
Wow, but he was a bonnie young lad
come seeking me tae woo-o

I was bakin when he cam, when he cam, o when he cam
I took him in an I gied him a scone, tae thaw his frozen mou-o

I set him in aside the bink, ah gied him breid an ale tae drink
Ne'er a blithe styme wad he blink, until his wame was fu-o

"Gae get ye gaen ye cauldrife wooer, ye soor looking cauldrife wooer!"
I straightway showed him tae the door, sayin, "Come nae mair tae woo-o"

There lay a deuk dub afore the door, afore the door, afore the door
There lay a deuk dub afore the door, an there fell he I trow-o

Oot cam I an I sneered an smiled "Ye've come tae woo and yer aa beguiled
Ye've fa'en in the dirt an yer aa befiled - we'll hae nae mair o you-o!"

Words:

Bink: bench
Blink: look fondly
Blithe: cheerful
Cauldrife: chilly in manner, indifferent
Deuk-dub: duck-pond
Guidman and Guidwife: the master and mistress of the house
Laigh: low
Louted: bowed
Styme: glance
Trow: believe, know
Vow: exclamation of pleased surprise
Wame: stomach
Wow : exclamation of pleased surprise

Aileen Carr brought this song to Sangschule.

The Lyric Gems of Scotland with music, series 2, p42, gives the title as ‘The Cauldrife Wooer’ and the air as ‘Bung your Eye in the Morning’. The note for the song says:
“This lively song first appeared in David Herd’s collection, 1776. The author is unknown.”
It appears in Herd’s Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, vol.2, p.150 and the lyric is almost identical with the one in Lyric Gems of Scotland except that Herd’s exclamation is “wow” as we had it from Aileen, and Lyric Gems has “vow”.

An extra verse is given in both books as the second-last verse:
Out cam the guidman, and high he shouted,
Out cam the guidwife, and laigh she louted (and low she bowed, bent down)
And a’ the toun neebors were gathered about it
And there lay he, I trow (believe)

This verse also appears in Scottish Songs Prior to Burns: edited by Chambers who confirms: “For the above song, which first appeared in Herd’s Collection, no author has ever been assigned.”