The Taylor Fell Thro' the Bed
written in 1790
The Taylor Fell Thro' the Bed - meaning Summary
Playful Nocturnal Encounter
This short Scots ballad recounts a comic, suggestive episode in which a tailor falls through a bed and a young woman, untroubled and receptive, welcomes his return. In plain rural terms the poem mixes humour, sexual innuendo and local speech to compress a nocturnal encounter into a few repeated stanzas. References to small coin and short days place the scene in a modest household economy and wintertime intimacy. The repeated lines and jaunty rhythm give the piece a songlike, convivial tone rather than a moralizing one.
Read Complete AnalysesThe Taylor fell thro' the bed, thimble an' a', The Taylor fell thro' the bed thimble an' a'; The blankets were thin and the sheets they were sma', The Taylor fell thro' the bed, thimble an' a'. The sleepy bit lassie she dreaded nae ill, The sleepy bit lassie she dreaded nae ill; The weather was cauld and the lassie lay still, She thought that a Taylor could do her nae ill. Gie me the groat again, cany young man, Gie me the groat again, cany young man; The day it is short and the night it is lang, The dearest siller that ever I wan. There's somebody weary wi' lying her lane, There's somebody weary wi' lying her lane, There's some that are dowie, I trow wad be fain To see the bit Taylor come skippin again.
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