Annie's Bunnet (Songs from the Heart & Elsewhere)
Ah’d ayeways dreamed ah had a bunnet,
Wan wi lots o’ flooers on it -
Ah mind sae weel the time ah bocht it,
Ah felt sae happy when ah’d got it.
Although ma man, gey fou an’ mean,
Swung at ma face an’ blacked ma een.
He said “Ye wid look better deid
Than wi yon bunnet on yer heid.”
Then he telt me jist tae tak
The bunnet an’ its box richt back ...
But on ma way back tae the store
Ah had the time tae think it ower -
Tae tak it back wid be a shame.
Ah’ll hide it in its box at hame,
In the press beneath the stair
(He’d niver ken that it wis there).
Then through his pockets ah wid look
An’ oot his jaicket pocket took
An equal sum tae whit ah’d spent -
He widna mind where it had went.
The missin’ money he wid think
Had gaun on cigarettes an’ drink...
An’ noo an’ then when he wis gaun
Ah’d tak it oot an’ pit it on
An’ dream aboot how it wid be
If freens an’ neeburs could see me,
Lookin’ grand in ma guid bunnet,
The wan wi’ a’ the flooers on it.
Then wan day ah pit on ma bunnet,
The wan wi’ a’ the flooers on it,
An’ aff ah sauntered tae the kirk
Tae thank the Lord fur a’ his work
An’ fur his mercy settin’ free
Ma man frae life’s hard toil ... an’ me -
They say it’s sad that he’s a gauner,
A’ve done him prood an’ in his honour
On ma heid there sits ma bunnet,
The wan wi’ a’ the flooers on it.
Noo ah can wear it every day
An’ when ah’m asked here’s whit ah say:
Ah wear this hat so ah can mind
Ma man an’ jist how guid an’ kind
He really wis ... But ah mind best
Bein’ battered senseless an’ the rest,
An’ a’ thae times when he wis fou
An’ beat ma body black an blue.
Noo he’s the wan that’s in a box,
Ah dinnae huv tae wash his socks
Or dread his step upon the stair
Or hear his havers ony mair.
Ah visit yet his place o’ rest
Ah smile an’ look ma very best.
Ah wear ma bunnet on ma heid,
Ah’m gled he’s gaun an’ that he’s deid.
Ah pit oot flooers, being his wife,
Tae mark the ending o’ his life
But noo it isnae jist ma bunnet
That’s got a lot o’ flooers on it ...
Annie's Bunnet was filmed as part ofTightlaced Theatre's book launch productions. Visit www.tightlacedtheatre.org to see this and other Songs in performance.
More Songs from the Heart & Elsewhere:
Open Wide Playing God
Also available - Personalized Poems
Ah’d ayeways dreamed ah had a bunnet,
Wan wi lots o’ flooers on it -
Ah mind sae weel the time ah bocht it,
Ah felt sae happy when ah’d got it.
Although ma man, gey fou an’ mean,
Swung at ma face an’ blacked ma een.
He said “Ye wid look better deid
Than wi yon bunnet on yer heid.”
Then he telt me jist tae tak
The bunnet an’ its box richt back ...
But on ma way back tae the store
Ah had the time tae think it ower -
Tae tak it back wid be a shame.
Ah’ll hide it in its box at hame,
In the press beneath the stair
(He’d niver ken that it wis there).
Then through his pockets ah wid look
An’ oot his jaicket pocket took
An equal sum tae whit ah’d spent -
He widna mind where it had went.
The missin’ money he wid think
Had gaun on cigarettes an’ drink...
An’ noo an’ then when he wis gaun
Ah’d tak it oot an’ pit it on
An’ dream aboot how it wid be
If freens an’ neeburs could see me,
Lookin’ grand in ma guid bunnet,
The wan wi’ a’ the flooers on it.
Then wan day ah pit on ma bunnet,
The wan wi’ a’ the flooers on it,
An’ aff ah sauntered tae the kirk
Tae thank the Lord fur a’ his work
An’ fur his mercy settin’ free
Ma man frae life’s hard toil ... an’ me -
They say it’s sad that he’s a gauner,
A’ve done him prood an’ in his honour
On ma heid there sits ma bunnet,
The wan wi’ a’ the flooers on it.
Noo ah can wear it every day
An’ when ah’m asked here’s whit ah say:
Ah wear this hat so ah can mind
Ma man an’ jist how guid an’ kind
He really wis ... But ah mind best
Bein’ battered senseless an’ the rest,
An’ a’ thae times when he wis fou
An’ beat ma body black an blue.
Noo he’s the wan that’s in a box,
Ah dinnae huv tae wash his socks
Or dread his step upon the stair
Or hear his havers ony mair.
Ah visit yet his place o’ rest
Ah smile an’ look ma very best.
Ah wear ma bunnet on ma heid,
Ah’m gled he’s gaun an’ that he’s deid.
Ah pit oot flooers, being his wife,
Tae mark the ending o’ his life
But noo it isnae jist ma bunnet
That’s got a lot o’ flooers on it ...
Annie's Bunnet was filmed as part ofTightlaced Theatre's book launch productions. Visit www.tightlacedtheatre.org to see this and other Songs in performance.
More Songs from the Heart & Elsewhere:
Open Wide Playing God
Also available - Personalized Poems
Beverley F. Wright
