WHAT A FEUL AW'VE BEEN!

TEUN-"John Anderson my Jo."

Aw mind the time, when full 0' strength,
Aw gaily went te wark,
An' care sat leetIy On me broo
Frae mornin until dark.
A happy fam'ly be me side
Enlivened a' the scene;
But noo the change, the weary change,
Shows what a feul aw've been.

Contented wi' me daily lot,
Industry charmed me heart,
An' high it beat wi' honest hope,
Sum day aw'd myek a start
I' bissniss, maister for me-sel,
An' this aw might heh been;
But oh, the drink, the weary drink,
Shows what a feul aw've been.

Aw had a hoose, a canny hoose,
An' luvin wife beside;
An' bairns that clung around me knee,
Thor dad and mammy's pride.
Poor things! they dropped off one be one,
For poverty se keen
Com roond us wiv a deedly blast
Man, what a feul aw've been!

The hoose that shud hey been a hyem
Te wife an' bairns for life,
Wes myed a scene ov nowt but want
An' nivvor-ending strife.
Wi' happiness completely lost,
Ne hoose, ne wife, nor wean,
The miserable life aw lead
Shows what a feul aw've been.