Songs of the Ridings by F. W. Moorman: The Bride's Homecoming

Songs of the Ridings

The Bride's Homecoming

	A weddin', a woo, A clog an' a shoe, A pot full o' porridge; away we go!
	A Yorkshire Wedding-Rhyme.

	Thoo mun hod on tight, my darlin', We've mony a beck to cross; Twix' thy father's hoose an' mine, love, There's a vast o' slacks an' moss. But t' awd mare, shoo weant whemmle Though there's twee on her back astride; Shoo's as prood as me, is Snowball, Noo I's fetchin' heame my bride. A weddin', a woo, A clog an' a shoe, A pot full o' porridge; away we go! Gow! but I feel sae leetsome, Sin I've lived to see this day; My heart is like a blackbod's Efter a shoor i' May. I' t' sky aboon nea lairock Has sae mich reet to sing As I have, noo I've wedded T' lile lass o' Fulsa Ing. A weddin', a woo, A clog an' a shoe, A pot full o' porridge; away we go! Does ta hear yon watter bubblin', Deep doon i' t' moorland streams? It soonds like childer' voices When they're laughin' i' their dreams. An' look at yon lang-tailed pyots, There s three on 'em, I'll uphod! Folks say that three's for a weddin', Ay, a pyot's a canny bod. A weddin', a woo, A clog an' a shoe, A pot full o' porridge; away we go! I love to feel thee clingin' Wi' thy hands aroond my breast; Thy bosom's leetly heavin', Like a ship on t' saut waves' crest. An' thy breath is sweet as t' breezes, That cooms ower t' soothern hills, When t' violet blaws i' t' springtime Wi' t' yollow daffydills. A weddin', a woo, A clog an' a shoe, A pot full o' porridge; away we go! Is ta gittin' tired, my honey, We'll be heame i' hafe an hour; Thoo'll see our hoose an' staggarth, Wi' t' birk-trees bendin' ower. There's a lillilow i' our cham'er To welcome my viewly bride ; An' sean we'll be theer oorsels, lass, Liggin' cosy side by side. A weddin', a woo, A clog an' a shoe, A pot full o' porridge; away we go!

Notes (arranged alphabetically)

Aboon : above
Beck : brook, stream
Birk-trees : birch trees
Blaws : blooms
Cham'er : chamber: bedroom
Childer' : children's
Clog : wooden soled shoe, usually working footwear
Lairock : lark
Leetsome : gay, light-hearted
Liggin' : lying
Lile : little
Lillilow : light (M); a low: a flame
Mun hod : must hold
On 'em : of them
Pyots : magpies (M)
Saut : salt
Shoor : rain shower
Slacks : upland boggy areas
Staggarth : stack yard, farmyard
Ta : you (thou)
Vast : a vast number, a lot
Viewly : attractive
Whemmle : stumble (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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