Cum, Geordy, Haud the Bairn
"Cum, Geordy, haud the bairn,
Aw's sure aw'll not stop lang;
Aw'd tyek the jew'l me-sel,
But really aw's not strang.
Tho's flooer and coals te get,
The hoose-turns thor not deun;
So haud the bairn for fairs,
Ye've often deun'd for fun!"
Then Geordie held the bairn,
But sair agyen his will;
The poor bit thing wes gud,
But Geordie had ne skill:
He haddint its muther's ways,
He sat byeth stiff an' num;
Before five minutes wes past,
He wished its muther wad cum!
His wife had scarcely gyen,
The bairn began te squall,
Wi' hikin't up an doon,
He'd let the poor thing fall.
It waddent haud its tung,
Tho' sum aud teun he'd hum-
"Jack an' Jill went up a hill"-
Aw wish yor muther wad cum!
"What weary toil," says he,
"This nursin' bairns mun be;
A bit on'ts weel eneuf,
Ay, quite eneuf for me.
Te keep a cryin bairn
It may be grand te sum;
A day's wark's not as bad-
Aw wish yor muther wad cum!"
Written by Joe Wilson, one of the best local writers, who died in 1875
Translation: (!)
"Cum, Geordy, haud the bairn,
Come Geordy, hold the baby
Aw's sure aw'll not stop lang;
I'm sure I'll not stop long
Aw'd tyek the jew'l me-sel,
I'd take the jewel myself
But really aw's not strang.
But really I'm not strong
Tho's flooer and coals te get,
There's flour and coal to get
The hoose-turns thor not deun;
The house jobs are not done
So haud the bairn for fairs,
So hold the baby to be fair
Ye've often deun'd for fun!"
You've often done it for fun!
Then Geordie held the bairn,
Then Geordie held the baby
But sair agyen his will;
But sore against (much against) his will
The poor bit thing wes gud,
The poor thing was good
But Geordie had ne skill:
But Geordie had no skill
He haddint its muther's ways,
He hadn't its mother's ways
He sat byeth stiff an' num;
He sat both stiff and numb
Before five minutes wes past,
Before 5 minutes was past
He wished its muther wad cum!
He wished its mother would come!
His wife had scarcely gyen,
His wife had scarcely gone
The bairn began te squall,
The child began to cry
Wi' hikin't up an doon,
With walking it up and down
He'd let the poor thing fall.
He'd let the poor thing fall
It waddent haud its tung,
It wouldn't hold its tonge (be quiet)
Tho' sum aud teun he'd hum-
Though some old tune he'd hum-
"Jack an' Jill went up a hill"-
Jack and Jill went up a hill-
Aw wish yor muther wad cum!
I wish your mother would come!
"What weary toil," says he,
What weary toil, says he
"This nursin' bairns mun be;
This nursing children must be;
A bit on'ts weel eneuf,
A bit of it is alright
Ay, quite eneuf for me.
Yes, quite enough for me
Te keep a cryin bairn
To keep a crying baby
It may be grand te sum;
It may be grand for some
A day's wark's not as bad-
A day's work is not as bad-
Aw wish yor muther wad cum!"
I wish your mother would come!