The Prospector's Shanty
The Prospector's Shanty
Original Text
James Anderson, Sawney's Letters and Cariboo Rhymes
(Toronto: W. S. Johnson, 1895): 24-25. Internet Archive.
1See yonder shanty on the hill;
2'Tis but an humble biggin',
4Your head may touch the riggin'--
5The door stands open to the south,
6The fire, outside the door;
8And nocht but mud the floor--
9A knife an' fork, a pewter plate,
10An' cup o' the same metal,
11A teaspoon an' a sugar bowl,
12A frying pan an' kettle;
13The bakin' board hangs on the wa',
14Its purposes are twa-fold--
15For mixing bread wi' yeast or dough,
17A log or twa in place o' stools,
18A bed withoot a hangin',
20This little house belangin';
22I canna name it finer,
23Lives free an' easy as a lord,
24Tho' but an "honest miner."
Notes
3] wa's: walls. Back to Line
7] fog: long grass. Back to Line
16] braw: splendid. Back to Line
19] feckly: almost. Back to Line
21] laird: lord. Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1868
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
2011
Rhyme
Form