When she cam ben she bobbed


O when she cam ben she bobbed fu' law, O when she cam ben she bobbed fu' law; And when she cam ben she kiss'd Cockpen, And syne deny'd she did it at a'. And was na Cockpen right saucy with a', And was na Cockpen right saucy with a', In leaving the dochter of a lord, And kissin a Collier-lassie an' a'. O never look down, my lassie at a', O never look down, my lassie at a'; Thy lips are as sweet and thy figure compleat, As the finest dame in castle or ha'. Tho' thou has nae silk and holland sae sma, Tho' thou has nae silk and Holland sae sma, Thy coat and thy sark are thy ain handywark And Lady Jean was never sae braw.

Listen

Stuart McQuarrie

About this work

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

Themes for this song

classseduction

Selected for 14 November

We are (alas) a day late in marking the death in 1968 of the Fife poet and playwright Joe Corrie. Corrie, a coal miner and a communist, wrote a magnificently frank and earthy theatre piece about Burns, locating the Bard’s world-view in the Ayrshire community of his youth. In this song, the uncowed and unbowed heroine, worthy as any landed lady, is a 'collier lassie'.

Donny O'Rourke

Skip to top

BBC © 2014The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.