Cowe the Nettle Early Lyrics
A Scots gardening song says exactly when and where to cut back nettles: early, low, and before they come into flower.
Cowe the Nettle Early
Gin ye be for lang kail,
Cowe the nettle, stoo the nettle:
Gin ye be for lang kail,
Cowe the nettle early.
Cowe it laich, cowe it sune,
Cowe it in the month o' June;
Stoo it ere it's in the bloom,
Cowe the nettle early.
Cowe it by the old wa's,
Cowe it where the sun ne'er fa's,
Stoo it when the day daws,
Cowe the nettle early.
Auld heuk wi' no ae tooth,
Cowe the nettle, stoo the nettle;
Auld gluive wi' leather loof,
Cowe the nettle early.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/cowe-the-nettle-early/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Sung or chanted, with a chopping beat
- Best for ages
- 4 to 9 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Cowe the nettle, stoo the nettle | Chop the air with a flat hand, as if cutting stems. |
| Cowe it laich, cowe it sune | Crouch down low for laich, then pop up for sune. |
| Auld heuk wi' no ae tooth | Curve one hand into a sickle shape and hold it up. |
What Does Cowe the Nettle Early Mean?
The song is in Scots, and the words are worth a minute. Gin means if, and lang kail is tall kale, the leafy green that was a staple of Scottish kitchen gardens. Cowe means to cut back or lop, stoo to trim short, laich is low, sune is soon, wa's are walls and daws means dawns. A heuk is a hook or sickle, a gluive is a glove and a loof is the palm of the hand. The song does not spell out its lesson. It may be weeding advice, but young nettles were also boiled as kail in Scotland, and the advice fits that too: cut them early, low and before they flower, while the shoots are tender.
History and Origin
Robert Ford prints it in Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories (1904) and introduces it as a delectable song for children with a quiet lesson tucked inside. The tools in the last verse are an old hook with no teeth and a glove with a leather palm, probably the kit of a gardener who has to handle stinging nettles.
Learning Activities
- Safety first: nettles sting through bare skin, so cut or pull them only with thick gloves and long sleeves, and keep small children back. For the sting itself, see Nettle In, Dock Out.
- Weeding race: weed a small garden patch together and compare the piles.
- Grow kale: sow kale seeds in a pot or bed in spring and measure how tall it gets by autumn.
- Scots in English: read each verse aloud, then say it again in everyday English.