---
title: "The Braw Wooer"
author: "Robert Burns"
form: "Song"
year: "1795"
tune: "The Lothian Lassie"
location: "Dumfries"
source: "Project Gutenberg #1279 — Poems and Songs of Robert Burns"
source_url: "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1279/pg1279.txt"
canonical_url: "https://robert-burns.com/poems/the-braw-wooer/"
---

# The Braw Wooer

## Song
Last May, a braw wooer cam doun the lang glen,  
And sair wi’ his love he did deave me;  
I said, there was naething I hated like men—  
The deuce gae wi’m, to believe me, believe me;  
The deuce gae wi’m to believe me.

He spak o’ the darts in my bonie black e’en,  
And vow’d for my love he was diein,  
I said, he might die when he liked for Jean—  
The Lord forgie me for liein, for liein;  
The Lord forgie me for liein!

A weel-stocked mailen, himsel’ for the laird,  
And marriage aff-hand, were his proffers;  
I never loot on that I kenn’d it, or car’d;  
But thought I might hae waur offers, waur offers;  
But thought I might hae waur offers.

But what wad ye think?—in a fortnight or less—  
The deil tak his taste to gae near her!  
He up the Gate-slack to my black cousin, Bess—  
Guess ye how, the jad! I could bear her, could bear her;  
Guess ye how, the jad! I could bear her.

But a’ the niest week, as I petted wi’ care,  
I gaed to the tryst o’ Dalgarnock;  
But wha but my fine fickle wooer was there,  
I glowr’d as I’d seen a warlock, a warlock,  
I glowr’d as I’d seen a warlock.

But owre my left shouther I gae him a blink,  
Lest neibours might say I was saucy;  
My wooer he caper’d as he’d been in drink,  
And vow’d I was his dear lassie, dear lassie,  
And vow’d I was his dear lassie.

I spier’d for my cousin fu’ couthy and sweet,  
Gin she had recover’d her hearin’,  
And how her new shoon fit her auld schachl’t feet,  
But heavens! how he fell a swearin, a swearin,  
But heavens! how he fell a swearin.

He begged, for gudesake, I wad be his wife,  
Or else I wad kill him wi’ sorrow;  
So e’en to preserve the poor body in life,  
I think I maun wed him to-morrow, to-morrow;  
I think I maun wed him to-morrow.

---

Source: [Project Gutenberg #1279 — Poems and Songs of Robert Burns](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1279/pg1279.txt)  
Canonical HTML: https://robert-burns.com/poems/the-braw-wooer/