Yorkshire Ditties, Second Series | Page 5

they can't keep sarvent men,
An' dine off silver plate;?Aw think they'd show more gradely wit
To listen to my creed,?An' things they find they cannot get,
Why, try to niver heed.
Ther's some 'at lang for parks an' halls,
An' letters to ther name;?But happiness despises walls,
It's nooan a child o' fame.?A robe may lap a woeful chap,
Whose heart wi grief may bleed,?Wol rags may rest on joyful breast,
Soa hang it! niver heed!
Th' sun shines as breet for me as them,
An' th' meadows smell as sweet,?Th' larks sing as sweetly o'er mi heead,
An' th' flaars smile at mi feet,?An' when a hard day's wark is done,
Aw ait mi humble feed,?Mi appetite's a relish fun,
Soa hang it, niver heed.
Sing On.
Sing on, tha bonny burd, sing on, sing on;
Aw cannot sing;?A claad hings ovver me, do what aw con
Fresh troubles spring.?Aw wish aw could, like thee, fly far away,?Aw'd leave mi cares an be a burd to-day.?Mi heart war once as full o' joy as thine,
But nah it's sad;?Aw thowt all th' happiness i'th' world wor mine,
Sich faith aw had;--?But he who promised aw should be his wife?Has robb'd me o' mi ivery joy i' life.?Sing on: tha cannot cheer me wi' thi song;
Yet, when aw hear?Thi warblin' voice, 'at rings soa sweet an' strong,
Aw feel a tear?Roll daan mi cheek, 'at gives mi heart relief,?A gleam o' comfort, but it's varry brief.?This little darlin', cuddled to mi breast,
It little knows,?When snoozlin' soa quietly at rest,
'At all mi woes?Are smothered thear, an' mi poor heart ud braik?But just aw live for mi wee laddie's sake.?Sing on; an' if tha e'er should chonce to see
That faithless swain,?Whose falsehood has caused all mi misery,
Strike up thy strain,?An' if his heart yet answers to thy trill?Fly back to me, an' aw will love him still.?But if he heeds thee not, then shall aw feel
All hope is o'er,?An' he that aw believed an' loved soa weel
Be loved noa more;?For that hard heart, bird music cannot move,?Is far too cold a dwellin'-place for love.
What aw Want.
Gie me a little humble cot,
A bit o' garden graand,?Set in some quiet an' sheltered spot,
Wi' hills an' trees all raand;
An' if besides mi hooam ther flows
A little mumuring rill,?At sings sweet music as it gooas,
Awst like it better still.
Gie me a wife 'at loves me weel,
An' childer two or three,?Wi' health to sweeten ivery meal,
An' hearts brimful o' glee.
Gie me a chonce, wi' honest toil
Mi efforts to engage,?Gie me a maister who can smile
When forkin aght mi wage.
Gie me a friend 'at aw can trust,
'An tell mi secrets to;?One tender-hearted, firm an' just,
Who sticks to what is true.
Gie me a pipe to smook at neet,
A pint o' hooam-brew'd ale,?A faithful dog 'at runs to meet
Me wi a waggin tail.
A cat to purr o'th' fender rims,
To freeten th' mice away;?A cosy bed to rest mi limbs
Throo neet to commin day.
Gie me all this, an' aw shall be
Content, withaat a daat,?But if denied, then let me be
Content to live withaat.
For 'tisn't th' wealth one may possess
Can purchase pleasures true;?For he's th' best chonce o' happiness,
Whose wants are small an' few.
What it is to be Mother.
A'a, dear! what a life has a mother!
At leeast, if they're hamper'd like me,?Thro' mornin' to neet ther's some bother,
An' ther will be, aw guess, wol aw dee.
Ther's mi chap, an misen, an' six childer,
Six o'th' roughest, aw think, under th' sun,?Aw'm sartin sometimes they'd bewilder
Old Joab, wol his patience wor done.
They're i' mischief i' ivery corner,
An' ther tongues they seem niver at rest;?Ther's one shaatin' "Little Jack Horner,"
An' another "The realms o' the blest."
Aw'm sure if a body's to watch 'em,
They mun have een at th' back o' ther yed;?For quiet yo niver can catch 'em
Unless they're asleep an' i' bed.
For ther's somdy comes runnin to tell us
'At one on em's takken wi' fits;?Or ther's two on 'em feightin for th' bellus,
An' rivin' ther clooas all i' bits.
In a mornin' they're all weshed an' tidy'd,
But bi nooin they're as black as mi shoe;?To keep a lot cleean, if yo've tried it,
Yo know 'at ther's summat to do.
When my felly comes hooam to his drinkin',
Aw try to be gradely, an' straight;?For when all's nice an' cleean, to mi thinkin',
He enjoys better what ther's to ait.
If aw tell him aw'm varry near finished
Wi allus been kept in a fuss,?He says, as he looks up astonished,
"Why, aw niver see owt 'at tha does."
But aw wonder who does all ther mendin',
Weshes th' clooas, an cleans th' winders an' flags??But for me they'd have noa spot to stand in--
They'd be lost i' ther filth an' ther rags.
But it allus wor soa, an' it will be,
A chap thinks' at a woman does nowt;?But it ne'er bothers me what they tell me,
For men havn't a morsel o' thowt.
But just harken to me wol aw'm tellin'
Ha aw tew to keep