OH, I wad like to ken-to the beggar-wife says I-
Why chops are guid to brander and nane sae guid to fry.
An- siller, that -s sae braw to keep, is brawer still to gi-e.
It -s gey an- easy spierin-, says the beggar-wife to me.

Oh, I wad like to ken-to the beggar-wife says I-
Hoo a-things come to be whaur we find them when we try,
The lasses in their claes an- the fishes in the sea.
It -s gey an- easy spierin-, says the beggar-wife to me.

Oh, I wad like to ken-to the beggar-wife says I-
Why lads are a- to sell an-lasses a- to buy;
An- naebody for dacency but barely twa or three.
It -s gey an- easy spierin-, says the beggar-wife to me.

Oh, I wad like to ken-to the beggar-wife says I-
Gin death-s as shure to men as killin- is to kye,
Why God has filled the yearth sae fu- o- tasty things to pree.
It -s gey an- easy spierin-, says the beggar-wife to me.

Oh, I wad like to ken-to the beggar-wife says I-
The reason o- the cause an- the wherefore o- the why,
Wi- mony anither riddle brings the tear into my e-e.
It -s gey an- easy spierin-, says the beggar-wife to me.