Hoo Can I keep My Maidenheid

Melody - "Birks o' Aberfeldie", from Merry Muses, 1800

Robert Burns, from Merry Muses of Caledonia, 1800 edition

Chorus:
Hoo can I keep my maidenheid,
My maidenheid, my maideheid;
Hoo can I keep my maidenheid
Amang sae mony men, O.

2. The captain bad a guinea for't,
A guinea for't, a guinea for't;
The captain bad a guinea for't,
An' the colonel he bad ten, O.
Chorus:

3. But I'll do as my minnie did,
My minnie did, my minnie did;
I'll do as my minnie did,
For siller I'll hae nane, O.
Chorus:

4. I'll gie it tae a bonnie lad;
A bonnie lad, a bonnie lad;
I'll gie it tae a bonnie lad,
For just as gude again, O.
Chorus:

5. An auld moulie maidenheid,
A maidenheid, a maidenheid,
An auld moulie maidenheid,
The weary wark I ken, O.
Chorus:

6. The stretchin' o't, the strivin' o't,
The borin' o't, the rivin' o't,
And ay the double drivin' o't,
The farther ye gang ben, O.
Chorus:

7. Hoo can I keep my maidenheid,
My maidenheid, my maidenheid;
Hoo can I keep my maidenheid
Amang sae mony men, O.
Chorus:

This song could have received a much larger place in Scottish music were it not for the second to last verse. Lyrics much too suggestive for the cultured elite to handle.

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