O Gin I Had Her
written in 1786
O Gin I Had Her - meaning Summary
Playful, Coarse Desire
This short Scots poem is a bawdy, teasing declaration of desire. The speaker fantasizes about possessing a dark-skinned woman, mixing comic bravado and earthy sexual imagery. He insists he would control her and provide for her, using rustic metaphors of childcare and household tasks to turn erotic longing into a boast about usefulness and provision. The tone is jocular and coarse, relying on dialect and blunt physicality rather than romantic sentiment. It reads as light-hearted folklore-style bragging rather than a serious romantic or lyrical meditation.
Read Complete AnalysesO gin I had her, Ay gin I had her, O gin I had her, Black altho' she be. I wad lay her bale, I'd gar her spew her kail; She ne'er soud keep a mail, Till she dandl'd it on her knee. She says, I am light To manage matters right, That I've nae might or weight To fill a lassie's ee; But wad she tak a yokin', I wad put a c-k in; A quarter o't to flocken, I wad frankly gie.
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