Songs of the Ridings by F. W. Moorman: Mary Mecca

Songs of the Ridings

Mary Mecca

Mary Mecca, Mary Mecca,
I'm fain to see thee here,
A Devon lass to fill my glass
O' home-brewed Yorkshire beer.
I awlus said that foreigners
Sud niver mel on me;
But sike a viewly face as thine
I'd travel far to see.

Mary Mecca, Mary Mecca,
I'm sad to see thee here,
Wheer t' wind blaws hask frae Norway
I' t' spring-time o' the year.
I'd liever finnd thee sittin',
Wi' a bowl o' cruds an' cream,
Wheer t' foxglove bells ring through the dells,
Anent a Dartmoor stream.

Mary Mecca, Mary Mecca,
The way thou snods thy hair,
It maks my heart go dancin'
Like winnlestraws i' t' air.
One neet I heard thee singin',
As I cam home frae toon;
'Twas sweet as curlews makkin' love
Agean a risin' moon.

Mary Mecca, Mary Mecca,
I dream o' thy gray een;
I think on all I've wasted,
An' what I might hae been.
I'm nowt but muck off t' midden,
So all I axe is this:
Just blaw the froth from off my yal;
'Twill seem most like a kiss.

Notes (arranged alphabetically)

Agean : against
Anent : beside
Axe : ask
Cruds an' cream : curds and cream, clotted cream
Een : eyes
Fain : glad
Hask : keenly (M)
Liever : rather
Mary Mecca : Mary Metcalfe (M)
Mel on : meddle with, associate with
Muck off t' midden : dirt from the rubbish heap
Sike : such
Snods : trims, styles, arranges
Viewly : attractive
Winnlestraws : wisps of grass or straw (M)
Yal : ale (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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