• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Poetry Catalog

We honor great poets. We honor great poetry.

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Submit Your Work
  • Writers
  • Advertising / Subscription

What Can a Young Lassie Do wi’ an Auld Man, By: Robert Burns

October 20, 2026 by Editors

pc

What can a young lassie, what shall a young lassie,
What can a young lassie do wi’ an auld man?
Bad luck on the penny that tempted my minnie
To sell her puir Jenny for siller an’ lan’.
Bad luck on the penny that tempted my minnie
To sell her puir Jenny for siller an’ lan’!

He’s always compleenin’ frae mornin’ to e’enin’,
He hoasts and he hirples the weary day lang;
He’s doylt and he’s dozin, his blude it is frozen,—
O, dreary’s the night wi’ a crazy auld man!
He’s doylt and he’s dozin, his blude it is frozen,
O, dreary’s the night wi’ a crazy auld man.

He hums and he hankers, he frets and he cankers,
I never can please him do a’ that I can;
He’s peevish an’ jealous o’ a’ the young fellows,—
O, dool on the day I met wi’ an auld man!
He’s peevish an’ jealous o’ a’ the young fellows,
O, dool on the day I met wi’ an auld man.

My auld auntie Katie upon me taks pity,
I’ll do my endeavour to follow her plan;
I’ll cross him an’ wrack him, until I heartbreak him
And then his auld brass will buy me a new pan,
I’ll cross him an’ wrack him, until I heartbreak him,
And then his auld brass will buy me a new pan.

Read all of Robert Burns's poems · About Robert Burns

More by Robert Burns

  • The Posie
  • On Glenriddell's Fox Breaking His Chain
  • Poem on Pastoral Poetry
  • Verses on the Destruction of the Woods Near Drumlanrig
  • The Gallant Weaver

Write poetry? Submit your poem to Poetry Catalog

Share this:

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Related

Filed Under: Poems

Get Every Post In Your Inbox 😳

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
(This is not the newsletter.)

Primary Sidebar

Never Miss A Poem (Newsletter)

Be Social

  • X
  • Facebook

Top Posts & Pages

  • Poetry Submission Deadlines October 2026
    Poetry Submission Deadlines October 2026
  • Behind the dreamy rainbow, By: Pawel Markiewicz
    Behind the dreamy rainbow, By: Pawel Markiewicz
  • Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?, By: William Shakespeare
    Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?, By: William Shakespeare
  • Poetry Submission Deadlines November 2026
    Poetry Submission Deadlines November 2026
  • The Song Of The Children, By: G.K. Chesterton
    The Song Of The Children, By: G.K. Chesterton
  • By The Seashore, Isle Of Man, By: William Wordsworth
    By The Seashore, Isle Of Man, By: William Wordsworth
  • Bothwell Castle, By: William Wordsworth
    Bothwell Castle, By: William Wordsworth
  • Forbidden Fruit. I, By: Emily Dickinson
    Forbidden Fruit. I, By: Emily Dickinson
  • Art On Paper, By: Mary Bone
    Art On Paper, By: Mary Bone
  • To Mr. Butts, By: William Blake
    To Mr. Butts, By: William Blake

Advertising/Subscribing = Loving

Buy Me A Coffee

Footer

Made with ❤ in Lubbock, TX.

Public Domain Poetry

Poetry Catalog Sponsors

Haiku Examples

Search

Copyright © 2026 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in