An auld truth, at which wise men nod -
"The soutar's wains are aye warst shod."
Author notes
I ken I said I widnae post onything mair, but efter a' it's jist a wee couplet...
Scots Glossary:
auld - old
soutar - shoemaker
wains - children
aye - always
warst - worst
In a list
A contest entry
- The dyer's pants are always white by ea.
500 points, ended April 26, 2007, 6 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 20 of 20
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*chuckles* you're so random sometimes. whatever inspired this, I wonder?
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Check above - it was a contest entry in "The dyer's pants are always white", and it's the Scottish equivalent of that Chinese proverb.
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I love listening to someone speak this langauge, as on Robbie Burns evenings, but to read it is another story. Congrats on the bronze!
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Thank you grannyeri, an' lang may your lum reek!
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The shoemaker's children are always barefoot. This is quite a delight for me to read the Scottish version. It's unclear, as in the Japanese one, whether it is because they are too busy or too poor.
Well, thank you muchly for this treat and for breaking your promise to keep away for my sake. Congrats on all the publishing, btw. I don't know when I will ever get that Amish schoolhouse collection together. I haven't been able to get enough material for that but I did see that they have built the new schoolhouse. -
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Well thank you very much for the wee piece of bronzewear. Och, mair clutter for ma wee shelf!
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My comment is that you always surprise me...
and happily so! Aye, your poetry and even two line brilliance is filled with the essence of you and very pleasing it is! 
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{chuckling} I am glad you liked it, Melodies.
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Very succinct interpretation, and similar to my opinion. Perhaps all cultures have a proverb to this effect. Well done, good luck!
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Thanks Margaret, and the same to you.
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Oh aye, M'lad, 'tis o' truth!!
Hmm imtersting use of archaic language, although my understanding of 'aye' is more to the idea of 'yes'. O have tried my own hand in archaic language, but in a different aspect. I love doing so! Best of luck in this and all of your endeavors.
Hetohke'e *
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Peggy, my doo, this is no' archaic - it's the guid Scots tongue.
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*begs pardon M'Lady* (notices the y slipped from last messages and
es) Is not aye in scots more along the same lines in scots (yes)?
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The word (or more precisely, two identical words with different etymologies) has a double meaning: "yes" as in "och aye", and "always" as in "It's aye been".
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oh aye, gotcha! thankee sai for t' lesson, aye pleasure to increase me kno'ledge!
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{chuckling and shaking my head}
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I love this, how interesting, and true! A very wonderful couplet, says it well in these two lines!
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Thanks very much. It suddenly struck me, when I saw the Japanese proverb, that the same thought is common all over the world.
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great poem, it took me three reads of the couplet to finally understand what was being said it made me laugh,
keep writing!
-Jordi
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Jordi, if ye lauched, then I'm ower happy!
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