O Can Ye Labour Lea?
1792
Type: Poem
Chorus-O can ye labour lea, young man,
O can ye labour lea?
It fee nor bountith shall us twine
Gin ye can labour lea.
I fee’d a man at Michaelmas,
Wi’ airle pennies three;
But a’ the faut I had to him,
He could na labour lea,
O can ye labour lea, &c.
O clappin’s gude in Febarwar,
An’ kissin’s sweet in May;
But my delight’s the ploughman lad,
That weel can labour lea,
O can ye labour lea, &c.
O kissin is the key o’ luve,
And clappin’ is the lock;
An’ makin’ o’s the best thing yet,
That e’er a young thing gat.
O can ye labour lea, &c.
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Robert Burns, (born January 25, 1759, Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland—died July 21, 1796, Dumfries, Dumfriesshire), national poet of Scotland. He wrote lyrics, ballads and songs in Scots and in English. He was also notable for his amorous adventures and his rebellion against religion and morality.