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CAN YE LABOUR LEA, YOUNG MAN?
Tune—"Sir Arch. Grant's Strathspey."
| An old song, of which there are many versions. The title appears to have been a favourite with the old rhymers. |
O can ye labour lea, young man?
O can ye labour lea?
Gae back the road ye came again,
Ye ne'er shall scorn me.
I fee'd a man at Martinmas,
Wi' arle pennies three,
But a' the faut I had to him,
He couldna labour lea.
O can ye, &c.
A stibble rig is easy ploughed,
And fallow land is free,
But what a silly coof is he,
That couldna labour lea.
O can ye, &c.
The bonny bush and benty knowe,
The ploughman points his sock in,
He sheds the roughness, lays it by.
And bauldly ploughs his yoking.
O can ye, &c.
