Songs of the Ridings by F. W. Moorman: Marra to Bonney

Songs of the Ridings

Marra to Bonney

What would you do wi' a doughter-
Pray wi' her, bensil her, flout her?-
Say, what would you do wi' a daughter
That's marra to Bonney hissen?

I prayed wi' her first, of a Sunday,
When chapil was lowsin' for t' neet;
An' I laid all her cockaloft marlocks
'Fore th' Almighty's mercy-seat.
When I looked for her tears o' repentance,
I jaloused that I saw her laugh;
An' she said that t' Powers o' Justice
Would scatter my words like chaff.

Then I bensilled her hard in her cham'er,
As I bensils owd Neddy i' t' cart.
If prayers willent teach thee, my dolly,
Happen whip-stock will mak thy tears start.
But she stood there as chuff as a mawmet,
Not one chunt'rin word did she say:
But she hoped that t' blooid o' t' martyrs
Would waish all my sins away.

Then I thought, mebbe floutin' will mend her;
So I watched while she cam out o' t' mill,
And afore all yon Wyke lads an' lasses
I fleered at her reight up our hill.
She winced when she heeard all their girnin',
Then she whispered, a sob i' her throat:
"I reckon I'll noan think o' weddin'
While women are given their vote."

What would you do wi' a doughter-
Pray wi' her, bensil her, flout her?-
Say, what would you do wi' a daughter
That's marra to Bonney hissen?

Notes (arranged alphabetically)

As chuff as a mawmet : as proud as an idol (M) (from Mahomet )
Bensil : beat (M)
Cham'er : chamber: bedroom
Chunt'rin : grumbling (M)
Cockaloft marlocks : conceited tricks (M)
Fleered : jeered
Flout : mock, treat with contempt
Girnin' : grinning, face-pulling (with vocal accompaniment in this case)
Happen : perhaps
Hissen : himself
Jaloused : suspected (M)
Lowsin' : loosing: emptying, letting out
Marra to Bonney : a match for Bonaparte (M); a phrase thought to have developed at the beginning of the 19th century from the expression as marrow is to bone
Noan : not
While : until
Wyke : now a district of Bradford

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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