Traditional: Collected Lyrics
02 / 291
Public-domain lyrics

I canna be fashed

Traditional

“I canna be fashed” as printed in The Book of Scottish Song (1843).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 2 1843 · historical text
Public domainScottish songFolk
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Book of Scottish Song, edited by Alexander Whitelaw, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

The deil's in the hizzies,

Thae lassies o' mine!—

Though there's a' things to do,

Baith the rough wark an' fine;

Though the breid's a' to bake,

An' the claes maun be washed,

There they'll sit an' they'll tell me

They "canna be fashed!"

Was ever the like o't?—

Sic gentle affairs!

Na! the jauds are gane gyte

Wi' their braws an' their airs;

My certes! I think

Wi' the tangs I'd been smashed,

Gin I'd said to my mither,

"I canna be fashed!"

But noo the bit lassocks

Ha'e grown sae genteel,

Wi' their books an' pianos

For seams an' the wheel;

Gin ye ask them to help ye,

Just hear hoo your snashed—

"'Deed, mither, I tell you

I canna be fashed!"

An' then there's sic wailing

For phrases sae fine,

That they're a' liker ledies

Than dochters o' mine;

But suns whan at hame

A' sic clavers are quashed,

For Scotch-like they'll tell me

They "canna be fashed."

Wi' their veils an' their earrings,

An' boas—keep me!

The pride o' thae lassies

It's awfu' to see.

Mak' them ledies indeed!

Na, their chaffs should be clashed,

Whan they offer to tell me

They "canna be fashed!"

But bide ye awee

Till the tawpies get men,

An' maun e'en gang their wa's

To their ain butt an' ben,—

An' ha'e bairnies wha greet

Till they're baith fed an' washed,

We'll see gin they'll cry then

They "canna be fashed!"

Credits

Written by Traditional

Traditional words. Historical text published in The Book of Scottish Song (1843); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Book of Scottish Song (1843), edited by Alexander Whitelaw, “I canna be fashed”

Every contribution in this 1843 anthology predates modern copyright terms by more than a century; any contributor died at least 130 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide (life+70 terms expired no later than 2020).

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-12. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
Keep tracing

More from Traditional: Collected Lyrics.

01A good old SongPublic-domain lyrics03It's weel it's nae waurPublic-domain lyrics04'Twas na her bonnie blue e'ePublic-domain lyrics05'Twas nae her bonnie blue e'ePublic-domain lyrics