Brose and Butter
Brose and Butter - meaning Summary
Rural Appetite and Desire
This short Scots poem presents a boisterous rural scene where food, drink and courtship mingle. The speaker urges a lover to give "brose and butter," using provision and supper as playful metaphors for affection and sexual readiness. Scenes of country life—birds, gardening, hauling heather and a convivial night of drinking—frame earthy humor and communal song. The tone is teasing and celebratory, rooted in local speech and everyday tasks, so the poem reads as a lively, slightly bawdy social song about desire, hospitality, and rustic appetite.
Read Complete AnalysesJenny sits up i' the laft, Jockie wad fain a been at her; But there cam a wind out o' the west Made a' the winnocks to clatter. O Gie my love brose, lasses; O gie my love brose and butter; For nane in Carrick wi' him Can gie a cunt its supper. The laverock lo'es the grass, The paetrick lo'es the stibble: And hey, for the gardiner lad, To gully awa wi' his dibble! My daddie sent me to the hill To pu' my Minnie some heather; An' drive it in your fill, Ye're welcome to the leather. The Mouse is a merry wee beast, The Moudiewart wants the een; And O' for a touch o' the thing I had in my nieve yestreen. We a' were fou yestreen, The night shall be its brither; And hey, for a roaring pin To nail twa wames thegither! O Gie my love brose, lasses; O gie my love brose and butter; For nane in Carrick wi' him Can gie a cunt its supper.
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