Songs of the Ridings by F. W. Moorman: One Year Older

Songs of the Ridings

One Year Older

One yeer owder, one yeer dearer:
That's what I sal awlus say.
Draw thy chair a little nearer,
Put yon stockin's reight away.
Thou hast done enough i' thy time,
Tewed i' t' house an' wrowt at loom;
Just for once thou mun sit idle,
Feet on t' hear'stone, fingers toom.

One yeer owder, one yeer dearer:
So I promised when we wed.
Then thy een were glest'rin' clearer
Nor the stars aboon us spread.
If they're dimmer now, they're tend'rer,
An' yon wrinkles on thy face
Tell a lesson true as t' Bible,
Speik o' charity an' grace.

One yeer owder, one yeer dearer:
We've supped sorrow, tasted joy,
But our love has grown sincerer,
Gethered strength nowt can destroy.
Love is like an oak i' t' forest,
Ivery yeer it adds a ring;
Love is like yon ivin tendrils,
Ivery day they closer cling.

One yeer owder, one yeer dearer:
Time's the shuttle, life's the yarn.
Have thy crosses seemed severer
'Cause thou niver had a barn?
Mebbe I sud not have loved thee
Hauf so weel, if I mud share
All our secret thowts wi' childer,
Twinin' round my owd arm-chair.

One yeer owder, one yeer dearer:
'Tis our gowden weddin' day.
There sal coom no gaumless fleerer
To break in upon our play.
Look, I've stecked wer door and window
Let me lap thee i' my arms;
Hushed to-neet be ivery murmur,
While my kiss thy pale face warms.

Notes (arranged alphabetically)

Aboon : above
Barn : child, especially young
Childer : children
Een : eyes
Gaumless fleerer : mocking fool
Glest'rin' : twinkling, sparkling
Hauf : half
Ivin : ivy
Lap : wrap, enfold
Mud : had to (must had)
Mun : must
Nor : than
Speik : speak
Stecked : latched (M)
Tewed : toiled, worked hard
To-neet : tonight
Toom : empty (M)
Wer : our
Wrowt : wrought, worked

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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