Nicky Tams

When I was barely ten years auld I left the parish schule
My parents feed me to the Mains, to chew his milk
And meal
I first put on my narrow breeks to hap my spinnel trams
And buskit roond my nappin' knees a pair o’ Nicky Tams

It's first I gaed for bailey's loon and syne I got for third
And syne of course I had to get the horseman’s grip and word
A loaf o' breid to be my piece and a bottle for drinking drams;
You couldna get through the cattle coort without your Nicky Tams

The fairmer I am wi' the noo he's wealthy but he's mean;
Tho' corn's cheap his horses thin, his harness fairly done;
He gars us load our cairts ower fu', his conscience has nae qualms
When breist straps break there’s naithing like a pair o’ Nicky Tams

I'm coortin’ bonnie Annie, noo, tho' damsel ticht she be
She is five-and-forty and I'm but seventeen;
She clorts a muckle piece to me wi' different kinds o’ jams
And tells me ilka nicht that she admires my Nicky Tams

Ae mornin' I put on my claes, the kirk for to gang
My collar it was unco ticht, my breeks were nane ower lang;
I had my bible in my hand, likewise my buik o' psalms
When Annie roars, "Ye muckle gowk, tak' aff your Nicky Tams!"

So unco sweir I took them off, the lassie for to please
But aye my breeks they birkit up aroond aboot my knees:
A rat gaed crawling up my leg in the middle o' the psalms
Never again will I ride the kirk without my Nicky Tams

I've often tho't I'd like tae be a bobby on the force
Or maybe I'll get on the trams to drive a pair o' horse
Whatever it is that I'm tae be, the bobbys or the trams
I'll never forget the happy days I wore my Nicky Tams!

Trivia about the song Nicky Tams by Ewan MacColl

When was the song “Nicky Tams” released by Ewan MacColl?
The song Nicky Tams was released in 1961, on the album “Popular Scottish Songs”.

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