Let Me in This Ae Nicht
"Oh, lassie art thou sleeping yet
Or are you waking, I would wit?
For love has bound me hand and foot
And I would fain be in, jo
"Let me in this ae nicht
This ae, ae, ae nicht
Oh, let me in this ae nicht
And I'll ne'er come back again
"The morn it is the term day
I maun awa', I canna stay
Oh pity me, before I gae
And rise and let me in, jo
"The nicht, it is baith cauld and weet
The morn, it will be snaw and sleet
My shoon are frozen to my feet
Wi' standing on the plain, jo
"I am the laird o' windy-wa's
I come nae here wi'out a cause
And I hae gotten mony fa's
Upon a naked wame oh"
"My faither's walking on the street
My mither the chamber keys doth keep
My chamber door does chirp and cheep
And I dare nae let ye in, jo
"Oh gae your way this ae nicht
The ae, ae, ae nicht
Oh gae your way this ae nicht
For I dare nae let ye in, jo"
"But I'll come stealin' saftly in
And cannily mak' little din
My fit-step tread, there's nae can ken
For the souchin' wind and rain, jo"
"Cast off the sheen frae off your feet
Cast back the door up to the weet
Syne into my bed you may creep
And do the thing you ken, jo"
"Oh leeze me on this ae nicht
This ae, ae, ae nicht
The joys we've had this ae nicht
Your chamber wa's within, jo"
She let him in sae cannily
She let him in sae privily
She let him in sae cannily
To do the thing ye ken, jo
But e'er a' was done and a' was said
Out fell the bottom o' the bed
The lassie lost her maidenhead
And her mither heard the din, jo
"Oh the Devil tak' the ae nicht
The ae, ae, ae nicht
Oh the Devil tak' the ae nicht
That e'er I let ye in, jo"
from Ewan MacColl Folk Songs and Ballads of Scotland
sung by Norman Kennedy
SOF
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!