Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
A Song of Life and Golf
1THE thing they ca' the stimy o't,
3Ye 'maist lie deid -- an unco shot --
4 Anither's ba' is there!
5Ye canna win into the hole,
7And aye, where'er ma ba' may roll,
8 Some limmer stimies me!
9Chorus -- Somebody stimying me,
10 Somebody stimying me,
11The grass may grow, the ba' may row,
12 Some limmer stimies me!
13I lo'ed a lass, a bonny lass,
14 Her lips an' locks were reid;
15Intil her heart I couldna pass:
16 Anither man lay deid!
17He cam' atween me an' her heart,
18 I turned wi' tearfu' e'e;
19I couldna loft him, I maun part,
20 The limmer stimied me!
21I socht a kirk, a bonny kirk,
22 Wi' teind, an' glebe, an' a';
23A bonny yaird to feed a stirk,
24 An' links to ca' the ba'!
25Anither lad he cam' an' fleeched --
27An' a' in vain ma best I preached,
28 That limmer stimied me!
29It's aye the same in life an' gowf;
30 I'm stimied, late an' ear';
31This world is but a weary howf,
32 I'd fain be itherwhere.
33But whan auld deith wad hole ma corp,
34 As sure as deith ye'll see
35Some coof has played the moudiewarp,
36 Rin in, an' stimied me!
37Chorus (if thought desirable).
Notes
1] ca': call.
stimy: stymie, a term that describes an opponent's golf ball that rests between one's own ball and the hole on the putting green.
2] ilka: every.
3] lie deid: to very close to the hole.
unco: uncommon.
4] ba': ball.
6] gleg: sharpsighted.
8] limmer: scoundrel.
19] loft: lift.
21] kirk: church.
22] teind: tithe.
glebe: church land given to a clergyman as part of his benefice.
23] stirk: bullock.
24] links: a golf course.
25] fleeched: entreated.
26] Convartit U.P.: converted unitarian protestant?
31] howf: haunt, resort.
33] corp: corpse.
35] moudiewarp: mole.
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: The Poetical Works of Andrew Lang, ed. Mrs. Lang, 4 vols. (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1923): II, 69-70. British Library 011645.ee.47
RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire
RP edition: RPO 2001
Recent editing: 2:2002/2/20
Rhyme: ababcdcd
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