As a child, I loved to search through my father’s old set of
poetry books. One called, “Comic Poets of
the 19th Century” included familiar poems such as The Jabberwocky by
Lewis Carroll but it also contained some decidedly unfunny poems.
My favourite, probably because of my Scottish birth, was the
following poem. If you have trouble understanding the Scots' tongue there is a glossary at the end.
Wee Joukydaidles by James Smith
Wee Joukydaidles,
Toddlin' oot an'
in;
Oh, but she's a cuttie,
Makin' sic a din!
Aye sae fou o' mischief,
An' minds nae what
I say:
My very heart gangs loup, loup,
Fifty times a day!
Wee Joukydaidles
Where's the stumpie
noo?
She's tumblin' i' the cruivie,
An' lauchin' to the
soo!
Noo she sees my angry e'e,
An' aff she's like
a hare!
Lassie, when I get ye,
I'll scud ye till
I'm sair!
Wee Joukydaidles
Noo she's breakin'
dishes
Noo she's soakit i' the burn,
Catchin' little
fishes;
Noo she's i' the barnyard,
Playin' wi' the
fouls
Feedin' them wi' butter-bakes,
Snaps, an'
sugar-bools.
Wee Joukydaidles
Oh, my heart it's
broke!
She's torn my braw new wincey,
To mak; a dolly's
frock.
There's the goblet owre the fire!
The jaud! she weel
may rin!
No a tattie ready yet,
An' faither comin'
in!
Wee Joukydaidles
Wha's sae tired as
me!
See! the kettle's doun at last!
Wae's me for my
tea!
Oh! it's angersome, atweel,
An' sune'll mak' me
gray;
My very heart gangs loup, loup,
Fifty times a day!
Wee Joukydaidles
Where's the smoukie
noo?
She's hidin' i' the coal-hole,
Cryin'
"Keekybo!"
Noo she's at the fireside,
Pu'in' pussy's tail
Noo she's at the broun bowl
Suppin' a' the
kail!
Wee Joukydaidles
Paidlin' i' the
shower
There she's at the windy!
Haud her, or she's
owre!
Noo she's slippit frae my sicht:
Where's the wean at
last?
In the byre amang the kye,
Sleepin' soun' an'
fast!
Wee Joukydaidles
For a' ye gi'e me
pain,
Ye're aye my darlin' tottie yet
My ain wee wean!
An' gin I'm spared to ither days
Oh, may they come
to pass
I'll see my bonnie bairnie
A braw, braw lass!
Glossary
cuttie = mischievous child
gangs loup, loup = goes jump, jump
stumpie = an endearing name for a child
cruivie = pigsty
soo = sow, pig
scud = slap
burn = stream
sugar-bools = round sugar-plums
wincey = cloth with a woollen weft and a linen warp
jaud = wilful, perverse
tattie = potato
Wae's me = Woe is me
atweel = as well
smoukie = cunning child
wean = child
byre amang the kye = cowshed amongst the cattle
tottie = term of endearment for a child
James Smith, the author of this poem, was born in Edinburgh
in 1824. At the age of 11, he was
apprenticed to a printer as a compositor.
On finishing his apprenticeship, he worked briefly in London before
travelling to Ireland. He returned to
work in Edinburgh as a journeyman printer and spent his leisure time writing poetry. He had the tremendous advantage of being able
to set up the typeface for a book of his own poems. He often wrote with a sense of humour but also
with sadness and tenderness. As well as
poems, some of which he set to music, he also wrote novels.
James Smith married three times and had seven children.
"Wee Joukydaidles" shows us that he understood and loved small mischievous
children. When he died in 1887, friends and followers of his work
raised money for a memorial on his grave in Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh. You can see a photograph of this memorial at
