Annotation:A' body's like to be married but me
X:1 % T:A' body's like to be married but me M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Air S:John Rook music manuscript collection (Waverton, Cumbria, 1840, p. 199) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:G d|B>AB G>AG|B>AB G2f|g>fg a>fd|{f}ed^c d2d| B>AB G>AG|BAB G2f|gfg afd|ed^c d2|| f|g>fg Bcd|ede A2d|G>AB ced/c/|B>caG2f| g>fg B>cd|e>de A2d|G>AB ced/c/|B>cB/A/ G2||
A' BODY'S LIKE TO BE MARRIED BUT ME. Scottish, Air (6/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. "A' body's like to be married but me" is the name of an anonymous Scottish song first printed in The Scots Magazine, July, 1802, but regularly anthologized in the 19th century. In the song the protagonist bemoans the fact that she has not yet found an ideal mate, and contemplates settling for one with flaws as it is harder to live alone. The first couple of stanzas go:
As Jenny sat down wi' her wheel by the fire,
An' thought o' the time that was fast fleein' by'er;
She said to hersel' wi' a heavy hoch hie,
Oh! A' body's like to be married but me.
My youthful companions are a' worn awa',
And though I've had wooers myelf' an or twa;
Yet a lad to my mind I ne'er could yet see,
A' body's like to be married but me.