Songs of the Ridings by F. W. Moorman: The Gardener and the Robin

Songs of the Ridings

The Gardener and the Robin

Why! Bobbie, so thou's coom agean!
I'm fain to see thee here;
It's lang sin I've set een on thee,
It's ommost hauf a yeer.
What's that thou says? Thou's taen a wife
An' raised a family.
It seems thou's gien 'em all the slip
Now back-end's drawin' nigh.

I mun forgi'e thee; we're owd friends,
An' fratchin's not for us;
Blackbirds an' spinks I can't abide,
At doves an' crows I cuss.
But thou'll noan steal my strawberries,
Or nip my buds o' plum;
Most feather-fowl I drive away,
But thou can awlus coom.

Ay, that's thy place, at top o' t' clod,
Thy heead cocked o' one side,
Lookin' as far-learnt as a judge.
Is that a worrm thou's spied?
By t' Megs! he's well-nigh six inch lang,
An' reed as t' gate i' t' park;
If thou don't mesh him up a bit,
He'll gie thee belly-wark.

My missus awlus lets me know
I'm noan so despert thin;
If I ate sausages as thou
Eats worrms, I'd brust my skin!
Howd on! leave soom for t' mowdiwarps
That scrats down under t' grund ;
Of worrms, an' mawks, an' bummel-clocks
Thou's etten hauf a pund.

So now thou'll clear thy pipes an' sing:
Grace after meat, I s'pose.
Thou looks as holy as t' owd saint
I' church wi' t' brokken nose.
Thou's plannin' marlocks all the time,
Donned i' thy sowdier coat;
An' what we tak for hymns o' praise
Is just thy fratchin' note.

I've seen thee feightin' theer on t' lawn,
Beneath yon laurel tree;
Thy neb was reed wi' blooid, thou looked
As chuffy as could be.
Thou's got no mense nor morals, Bob,
But weel I know thy charm.
Ay, thou can stand upon my spade.
I'll niver do thee harm.

Notes (arranged alphabetically)

Awlus : always
Back-end : indeterminate period before the onset of winter
Belly-wark : stomach-ache
Bummel-clocks : beetles (M)
Chuffy : haughty (M)
Een : eyes
Fain : glad
Fratchin' : quarrelling
Hauf a pund : half a pound (227 g)
Marlocks : tricks (M)
Mawks : maggots (M)
Mense : propriety, grace, respect
Mesh : mash, crush
Mowdiwarps : moles (M)
Mun : must
Neb : beak, bill, nose
Noan : not
Ommost : almost
Reed : red
Six inch lang : six inches long (just over 150 mm)
Sowdier coat : soldier coat, i.e. red coat
Spinks : chaffinches (M)

Explanations marked (M) are from Professor Moorman's original footnotes. Wherever possible, meanings have been checked in Dr Arnold Kellet's The Yorkshire Dictionary of Dialect, Tradition and Folklore (obtainable from the YDS), The Chambers Dictionary, and The Oxford English Dictionary. We have attempted at all times to be guided by context and to convey all probable intended meanings. We have not explained those words which differ only slightly in pronunciation and spelling from modern standard English.

Songs of the Ridings

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