O, for Ane and Twenty Tam
written in 1792
O, for Ane and Twenty Tam - meaning Summary
Longing for Twenty-one Freedom
The poem voices a young man's impatient wish to be twenty-one, when legal adulthood will give him independence. He complains of family mockery and control, and imagines that an inherited small estate and money will free him from asking kin for permission. He resists being pushed into a marriage for wealth and promises a beloved that his heart will belong to her when he reaches twenty-one. The repeated refrain captures both youthful longing and the practical hopes tied to age, inheritance, and personal choice.
Read Complete AnalysesAn O for ane and twenty, Tam! And hey, sweet ane and twenty, Tam! I'll learn my kin a rattlin' sang, An I saw ane and twenty, Tam. They snool me sair, and haud me down, An' gar me look like bluntie, Tam; But three short years will soon wheel roun', An' then comes ane an' twenty, Tam. A glieb o' lan', a claut o' gear, Was left me by my auntie, Tam; At kith or kin I need na spier, An I saw ane an' twenty, Tam. They'll hae me wed a wealthy coof, Tho' I mysel' hae plenty, Tam; But, hearst thou, laddie, there's my loof, I'm thine at ane an' twenty, Tam! An O for ane and twenty, Tam! And hey, sweet ane and twenty, Tam! I'll learn my kin a rattlin' sang, An I saw ane and twenty, Tam.
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