Yorkshire Dialect Poems (1673-1915) and traditional poems






A Yorkshire Farmer's Address to a Schoolmaster

     George Lancaster (Born 1846)

     Good day to you, Misther skealmaisther,
        the evenin' is desperate fine,
     I thowt I wad gie ye a call aboot
        that young sonnie o' mine.
     I couldn't persuade him to come,
        sea I left him behont(1) me at yam,(2)
     Bud somehoo it's waintly(3) possess'd me
        to mak a skealmaisther o' Sam.
     He's a kind of a slack-back, ye knaw,
        I niver could get him to work,
     He scarcelins wad addle(4) his saut
        wiv a ploo, or a shovel, or fork.
     I've tried him agean an' agean,
        bud I finnd that he's nea use at yam,
     Sea me an' my missus agreed
        to mak a skealmaisther o' Sam.
     If I sends him to wark, why, he'll chunther(5)
        an' gie me the a awfullest leaks,
     He'd a deal rayther lig upo' d' sofy
        wi' novels an' them soort o' beaks.
     Sea I thowt a skealmaisther wad suit him,
        a lowse soort o' job, do ye see,
     Just to keep a few bairns oot o' mischief,
        as easy as easy can be.
     Of coorse you've to larn 'em to coont,
        an' to figure a bit, an' to read,
     An' to sharpen 'em up if they're numskulls,
        wiv a lalldabber(6) ower their heead,
     Bud it's as easy as easy, ye knaw,
        an' I think it wad just suit oor Sam,
     An' my missus, she's just o' my mind,
        for she says that he's nea use at yam.
     It was nobbut this mornin' I sent him
        to gan an' to harrow some land,
     He was boamin'(7) asleep upo' d' fauf,(8)
        wiva rubbishly beak iv his hand;
     I gav him a bunch(9) wi' my feat,
        an' rattled him yarmin'(10) off yam.
     Sea I think that I'll send him to you,
        you mun mak a skealmaisther o' Sam.
     He's a stiff an' a runty(1) young fellow,
        I think that' he'll grow up a whopper,
     He'd wallop the best lad you've got,
        an' I think he wad wallop him proper;
     Bud still he's a slack-back, ye knaw,
        an' seein' he's nea use at yam,
     I think I shall send him to you,
        you mun mak a skealmaisther o' Sam.

     1. Behind.  2. Home.  3 Strangely.  4.Earn.
     5. Grumble.  6. Cuff.  7. Trailing along.
     8. Fallow.  9. Kick.  10. Whining.

All books are sourced from Project Gutenberg