Nicky Tams

When I wis only ten ‘ears aul’ I left the pairish squeel
Ma father fee’d me tae the mains tae chaw his milk an’ meal
I first pit on ma nerra breeks tae hap ma spin’le trams
Then bucklet room ma k-nappin’ k-nees a pair o’ nicky tams

First I got on for bailie loon an then I got on for third
An’ yne, of course, I hid tae get the horseman’s gripping word
A loaf o’ breid tae be ma piece, a bottle for drinkin’ drams
Bit ye canna gae throw the calf-hoose door without yer nicky tams

The fairmer I am wi’ the noo, he’s wealthy but he’s mean
Though corn’s cheap, his horse is thin, his hairness fairly deen
He gars us load wir cairts aye fu’, his conscience has nae qualms
When breist-straps brak there’s neething like a pair o’ nicky tams

I’m coortin’ bonnie Annie noo, Rob Tamson’s kitchie-deem
She is five-and-forty an’ I am seiventeen
She clorts a muckle piece tae me wi’ different kin’s o’ jam
An’ tells me ilke nicht that she admires ma nicky tams

I startit oot ae Sunday till the kirkie for tae gyang
Ma collar it was unco ticht ma breeks were nane ower lang
I had ma Bible in ma pooch, likewise ma book o’ Psalms
Fan Annie roart: “Ye muckle gype, tak’ aff yer nicky tams”

Though unco sweir, I took them aff, the lassie for tae please
But aye ma breeks they lirket up aroon aboot ma knees
A wasp gaed crawlin’ up ma leg in the middle o’ the Psalms
An’ nivir again will I rig the kirk withoot ma nicky tams

I affen thocht I’d like tae be a bobby on the force
Bit maybe I’ll get on the cars tae drive a pair o’ horse
Wherever it’s my lot tae be, the bobbies or the trams
I’ll never forget the happy days I wore ma nicky tams