Venice masks

Wednesday 5 May 2021

Peggy - Allan Ramsay

My Peggy is a young thing,
      Just enter'd in her teens,
Fair as the day, and sweet as May
Fair as the day, and always gay.
   My Peggy is a young thing,
      And I'm not very auld,
   Yet well I like to meet her at
      The Wawking of the Fauld.

   My Peggy speaks sæ sweetly,
      When'er we meet alane,
I wish næ mair to lay my care,
I wish næ mair of a' that's rare.
   My Peggy speaks sæ sweetly,
      To a' the lave I'm cauld;
   But she gars a' my spirits glow
      At Wawking of the Fauld.

   My Peggy smiles sæ kindly,
      Whene'er I whisper Love,
That I look down on a' the Town,
That I look down upon a Crown.
   My Peggy smiles sæ kindly,
      It makes my blythe and bauld,
   And naithing gi'es me sic delight,
      As Wawking of the Fauld.

   My Peggy sings sæ saftly,
      When on my pipe I play;
By a' the rest it is confest,
By a' the rest, that she sings best.
   My Peggy sings sæ saftly,
      And in her songs are tald,
   With innocence the wale of Sense,
      At Wawking of the Fauld.

Allan Ramsay (1686–1758) Scotland
Source: The Oxford Book of English Verse. Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, Clarendon, 1919

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please keep your comments relevant and free from abusive language. Thank you. Note that comments are moderated so it may be a day or two before your comment is posted - irrelevant or abusive comments will not be published.