Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BARBER WILLIE'S BONNIE DAUCHTER, by ROBERT FORD


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BARBER WILLIE'S BONNIE DAUCHTER, by                    
First Line: There leeves a lass in oor toun-en'
Last Line: Frae barber willie's bonnie dauchter!
Subject(s): Daughters; Shaving


THERE leeves a lass in oor toun-en' --
We've few sae fair, an' feint a fatter --
She's cuist a glamour owre oor men,
An' set the gossips' tongue a-clatter.
Gang East or Wast, or North or South,
At ony keyhole list the lauchter,
In ilka hame the crack's the same --
It's Barber Willie's bonnie dauchter.

A rosy lassie, five feet lang,
Clean-fittit, toshly built, an' sturdy,
Can dance a fling, and lilt a sang,
Shampoo a pow, or shave a beardie;
An' sic a gift o' trapping hearts --
A fortune to the dad that's aucht her;
There's few I ken, but fidges fain
To be possess'd o' sic a dauchter.

Wi' witchin' grace she saips the chin
O' auld an' young, o' rich an' semple,
An' shaves sae glegly oot an' in --
She ne'er was kent to jag a pimple;
An' nane she shaves but looks his love,
An' fain wad to his bosom claucht her;
But envy lowers amang the wooers
O' Barber Willie's bonnie dauchter.

Frae morn to nicht it's crop an' shave,
Shampoo, dress, an' strap, an' lather;
Some customers but ill-behave,
Their brains wi' love are sae thro'-ither;
Young blades wi' scarce a root to scrape,
Three times a day beseek the favour
O' ha'ein' their gabs besmear'd wi' suds
By Willie's witchin', wily shaver.

An' buirdly men wha late cud brag
The bauldest beards oot owre their cravats,
Hae scarcely noo a tuft to wag,
Save twa-three hairs about their haffits;
It's saip them here, an' scrape them there,
The case is really yont a' lauchter --
Oor toun-en's scarce o' hearts an' beards,
Thro' Barber Willie's bonnie dauchter.

Oh, that some chiel wad trap her heart,
An' win her hand wi' slee palaver --
Wad rin her aff wi' coach or cairt,
An' rid us o' the wily shaver.
Or could it reach the Fiscal's lug,
He'd aiblins chairge her wi' manslauchter;
An' save oor men -- heart, beard, and brain --
Frae Barber Willie's bonnie dauchter!





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