| Manx | English | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | |
| Guillyn aegey sooree | Young lads courting | |
| Nagh vel cur monney geill | Don’t give much heed | |
| My yiow ad inneenyn clever | If they find clever girls | |
| Follagh ta jeu pleadeil. | Folk gossip about them. | |
| 2 | 2 | |
| Yiow main inneenyn eirinnee | “We’ll find farmers’ daughters”, | |
| She shoh roo hene t’ad gra, | This is what they say to themselves, | |
| Giallit keead punt toghyr; | “Promised a dowry of a hundred pounds; | |
| Cha n’aggle dooin dy bragh. | No fear for us evermore.” | |
| 3 | 3 | |
| Giallit keead punt toghyr | Promised a dowry of a hundred pounds, | |
| S’gerrid vees mayd euish, | How soon we will be yours, | |
| Kione ghaa ny three dy vleeaney | Within a year or two, | |
| Bee’n scollag as eh brisht | The youth and he will be bankrupt. | |
| 4 | 4 | |
| Bee eh shooyl ayns ny margaghyn, | He’ll be walking in the markets, | |
| As kinjagh ayns thieyn oast, | And constantly in pubs, | |
| Ass e ven, as ass e toghyr | Of his wife, and of her dowry, | |
| Bee’n scollag jannoo boast. | The youth will be making a boast. | |
| 5 | 5 | |
| Bee eh ghaa ny three dy vleeaney poost | He’ll be two or three years married, | |
| Lesh da ve cummal thie | With him being keeping house, | |
| Jeeagh urree; gow sampleyr jee, | Look at her; take an example from her, | |
| Jeeagh urree goll fud thie. | Watch her going through the house. | |
| 6 | 6 | |
| Ta set dy ghownyn cotton eck, | She has a set of cotton gowns, | |
| Marish oanraghyn dimity | With dimity petticoats, | |
| Ny lhie ayns ny corneilyn, | Lying in the corner, | |
| Smoo feme oc er y nhee. | More need they have for washing. | |
| 7 | 7 | |
| My veetys oo rish fastyr | If you meet him in the afternoon, | |
| As ee craa ort e voyrn[1], | And her shaking his pride at you, | |
|
[1] T’ad craa nyn moyrn er y cheilley—Cregeen gives this as a proverb without further explanation.
| ||
| 8 | 8 | |
| –––––––––– | –––––––––– | |
| Gow uss yn coyrle mac Sirach, | Take the advice of the son of Sirach, | |
| As cur y dorrys j’ee. | And show her the door. | |
| 9 | 9 | |
| Shiuish guillyn aegey, | You young boys, | |
| Ta geaishtagh rish my arrane, | Who are listening to my song, | |
| Ny poose-jee er graih toghyr, | Marry not for the sake of a dowry, | |
| Choud as bee seihll er-mayrn. | For as long as there is a world left. | |
| 10 | 10 | |
| Poose ben ayd gys dty fancy; | Marry a woman that you fancy, | |
| Bee pleasure ec dty chree, | There’ll be pleasure in your heart, | |
| Ta’n scriptyr ginsh dy plain dooin, | Scripture tells us plainly, | |
| Dy vel graih erskyn dagh nhee. | That love is above every thing. | |
| 11 | 11 | |
| Dy beign er phoosey Nancy | If I had married Nancy, | |
| Va pleasure ec my chree, | There would be pleasure in my heart, | |
| Va ben aym gys my phancy | I would have a woman I fancy, | |
| Cha s’mie bynney lhiam ee. | How well I would love her. | |
| 12 | 12 | |
| Agh phoose mee er graih toghyr, | But I married for the sake of a dowry, | |
| V’eh red nagh row rieau mie | It was a thing that was never good, | |
| Hooar mee toot dy ’nneen vooar eirinnee, | I got an oaf of a big farmer’s girl, | |
| Nagh dod rieau cummal hie. | Who could never keep house. | |
| 13 | 13 | |
| My t’ou uss goll dy phoosey | If you are going to marry, | |
| Poose sharvaant jeh’n aill | Marry a hired servant, | |
| Chymsee pingyn cooidjagh | Gather pennies together | |
| As kionnee uss jee queeyl. | And buy her a (spinning) wheel, | |
| 14 | 14 | |
| Sneeuys ee dy kiarailagh, | That she will spin carefully, | |
| Dagh oor myr vees ec traa, | Every hour she will have time, | |
| Mannagh now lhieen dy kionnagh, | If you don’t find linen flax to buy, | |
| Yiow barragh er e lieh. | You’ll get tow for her. | |
| 15 | 15 | |
| T’ee saucey, moyrnagh, litcheragh, | She’s saucey, proud and lazy, | |
| As lhie foddey er laa, | And lies in bed late in the day, | |
| Geam da’n charvaant girree | Calling for the servant to get up, | |
| Dy [kiartagh / geddyn / gaarley] jee yn tey. | To [ready / get / prepare] the tea for her. | |
| 16 | 16 | |
| T’ee goardagh yn charvaant eck, | She orders her servant, | |
| Ee-hene soie ayns corneil | She herself sitting in the corner, | |
| As ta lhiannoo beg eck er e ghlioon, | And she has a little child on her knee, | |
| As y pipe eck ayns e cheeil[2]. | And her pipe in its cheek. | |
|
[2] KEEIL, s. f. jaw, jamb, side or cheek. (Cregeen)
| ||
| 17 | 17 | |
| Nagh row yn sing shoh contrivit, | Wasn’t this song composed, | |
| V’eshyn sing feer neat | It was a very neat song, | |
| Chontrive mee eh er sentry | I composed it on sentry duty, | |
| Cheusthie jeh’n wicket-gate. | Inside the wicket-gate. | |
| 18 | 18 | |
| Voish kiare gys shey chontrive mee eh | From four to six I composed it, | |
| Ny ooryn va mee ayn, | The hours I was there, | |
| Begin mee eh tra hie mee stiagh, | I began it when I went in, | |
| As ve aym tra haink mee roym. | And I had it (done) when I came away. | |