There's Hair On't
There's Hair On't - meaning Summary
Stymied by Overgrowth
This short, comic poem records a rural speaker’s frustrated attempt to do a task repeatedly foiled by an annoying obstruction called "hair." In plain, colloquial Scots voice he describes long labor with no success, the landscape where he nearly lost foot and horse, and the abundance of the problem. Despite the mishap, he resolves practical fixes—staking the field, laying stepping-stones, and planning to try again next year. The poem mixes earthy humor with pragmatic determination, portraying country life as stubborn, physical work interrupted by small, persistent difficulties.
Read Complete AnalysesO' ere yestreen I stented graith, An' labor'd lang an' sair on't; But fient a work, na work wad it, There's sic a crap o' hair on't. There's hair on't, there's hair on't, There's thretty thrave an' mair on't; But gin I live to anither year, I'll tether my grey naigs on't. An up the glen there rase a knowe, Below the knowe a lair on't, I maist haed perish'd, fit an' horse, I could na see for hair on't. But I'll plant a stake into the flowe, That ploughmen mey tak care on't; An' lay twa steppin'-stanes below, An syne I'll cowe the hair on't.
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