Jean Adam (1704-65)
Jean Adam (or Jane Adams) (30 April 1704 – 3 April 1765) was a Scottish poet born in Greenock to a maritime family. She was orphaned at a early age and was brought up in Cartsdyke, Greenock.
Her most famous work is "There's Nae Luck Aboot The Hoose", a tale of a sailor's wife and the safe return of her husband from the sea. This song is a favourite for Scottish dancing, and would be covered by several artists including Ella Logan the Scots-American Jazz singer and actress born and bred in Glasgow, who would record a Swing version during the 1930s in the United States.
There's Nae Luck Aboot The House By Jean Adam
And are ye sure he's weel?
Is this a time to talk o' wark?
Ye jades, fling by your wheel!
Is this a time to think o' wark,
When Colin's at the door?
Gie me my cloak! I'll to the quay,
And see him come ashore.
Chorus
For there's nae luck about the house,
There's nae luck ava';
There's little pleasure in the house,
When our gudeman's awa'.
Rise up, and mak a clean fire-side,
Put on the muckle pot;
Gie little Kate her cotton gown,
And Jock his Sunday coat;
And make their shoon as black as slaes,
Their hose as white as snaw;
It's a' to please my ain gudeman,
He likes to see them braw.
Chorus
There are twa hens upon the bauk,
'Been fed this month and mair,
Make haste and thraw their necks about,
That Colin weel may fare;
And spread the table neat and clean,
Gar ilka thing look braw;
It's a' to pleasure our gudeman,
For he's been lang awa'.
Chorus
Come gie me down my bigonets,
My bishop-satin gown;
And rin and tell the Bailie's wife
That Colin's come to town;
My Sunday sheen they maun gae on,
My hose o' pearl blue,
It's a' to please my ain gudeman,
For he's baith leal and true.
Chorus
Sae true his words, sae smooth his speech,
His breath like caller air,
His very foot has music in't,
When he comes up the stair:
And will I see his face again?
And will I hear him speak?
I'm downright dizzie wi' the thought,
In troth I'm like to greet!
Chorus
The cauld blasts o' the winter wind,
That thrilled through my heart.
They're a' blawn by; I hae him safe,
'Till death we'll never part;
But what puts parting in my mind?
It may be far awa;
The present moment is our ain.
The niest we never saw!
Chorus
Since Colin's weel, I'm weel content,
I hae nae mair to crave;
Could I but live to make him blest,
I'm blest aboon the lave;
And will I see his face again?
And will I hear him speak?
I'm downright dizzie wi' the thought,
In troth I'm like to greet!
Chorus
Jean Adam was given the basic education of the period, in reading, writing, and sewing. She would be inspired by the poetry of Sir Philip Sidney's The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (1590) and the works of John Milton and translations of the classics which she encountered when working as a domestic servant for the minister of West Kirk, Greenock.
Jean started writing poetry herself, and was helped by a customs and excise officer called Mr Drummond to raise funds from 150 subscribers to publish her book of Miscellany poems, under the name Mrs Jane Adams, although she never wedded. It was printed by James Duncan in 1734. The book included 80 poems, of mostly religious and moral nature, and a outline of her life and background. The book was dedicated to the Laird of Cartsburn. Sales of the book were disappointing and she suffered financial hardship when she used her savings to ship copies of the book to Boston, America, where it also failed to sell well.
She went on to work for many years at a school in Cartsdyke, her place of birth, where she was remembered for singing songs and for a rendition of Shakespeare's 'Othello'. After 1751 she became a domestic servant and needleworker. Whilst records of her life are sparse, it appears that she would fall in hard times. She died in Town's Hospital poorhouse in Glasgow on April 3, 1765, soon after entering as 'a poor person, a stranger in distress'.
This engraving from the 1830s shows the Town's Hospital and Poorhouse, built in 1733 on Great Clyde Street. The Hospital contained an infirmary, a workhouse, a home for the aged infirm and for orphans, and an asylum. It accommodated over 500 inmates by 1851, who carried out weaving, spinning, knitting, tailoring and shoemaking in the workhouse.
Ropeworks Lane, Clyde Street, Glasgow, the modern vicinity of the poorhouse where Jean Adam lived when she passed away.
Jean Adam called herself Mrs Jane Adams for the following work -
Miscellany Mrs Jane Adams in Crawfordsdyke (Glasgow, 1734)
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