O, for ane and twenty Tam


An O for ane and twenty, Tam! And hey, sweet ane and twenty, Tam! I'll learn my kin a rattlin' sang, An I saw ane and twenty, Tam. They snool me sair, and haud me down, An' gar me look like bluntie, Tam; But three short years will soon wheel roun', An' then comes ane an' twenty, Tam. A glieb o' lan', a claut o' gear, Was left me by my auntie, Tam; At kith or kin I need na spier, An I saw ane an' twenty, Tam. They'll hae me wed a wealthy coof, Tho' I mysel' hae plenty, Tam; But, hearst thou, laddie, there's my loof, I'm thine at ane an' twenty, Tam! An O for ane and twenty, Tam! And hey, sweet ane and twenty, Tam! I'll learn my kin a rattlin' sang, An I saw ane and twenty, Tam.

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Juliet Cadzow

About this work

This is a song by Robert Burns. It was written in 1792 and is read here by Juliet Cadzow.

Themes for this song

marriagelovefuture

Selected for 12 July

On this day in 1690, the protestant forces of the Dutch Prince William of Orange defeated the supporters of the Catholic 'pretender' to the British crown, James VII of Scotland. 'King Billy'' died after falling from his horse in 1702, an accident few Jacobites found tragic. The royal steed had stumbled over a molehill. That misfortune allowed the mole, or 'moudiewort', to enter Scottish folklore. It emerges blinking from obscurity to enjoy being cast in a starring role as a comically libidinous lecher here.

Donny O'Rourke

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