Broom Buzzems

"Broom Buzzems"
Song by (possibly) William (Blind Wiullie) Purvis
Written	unknown
Published	unknown
Lyricist(s)	(possibly) William (Blind Wiullie) Purvis
Language	English (Geordie)

"Buy Broom Buzzems" (or "Buy Broom Besums") is a song attributed by many to William Purvis, probably better known as "Blind Willie" (1752 - 1832), a Tyneside song writer and performer in the end of the 18th and start of the 19th century, and is considered by many to be his .

William Purvis is described as the writer/composer of this piece by many books and journals, while others dispute this. There is no real evidence either way.
But what can be said is that he made it his own and he was in the habit of adding new verses and removing old verses as it suited him. These verses may have been written by himself or by others for him, and usually had no connection with the original theme.
There are several other versions of the song. One version was popular just over the border in Southern Scotland and of which Rabbie Burns, for one, knew and in 1796 wrote a satirical piece, Buy Braw Troggin, set to the tune. Another version, The Besom Maker or Green Besoms, although it shares a refrain with this song, is otherwise quite different (the Roud Index assigns it number 910) and can be seen, as The Besom Maker, at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads.

"Broom Buzzems" refers to brooms (besoms). For a translation of other words, see Geordie dialect words.

Broom Buzzems

Part 1 - the main (original) verses

If ye want a buzzem
For to sweep yor hoose
Come to me, ma honey
Ye may hae yor choose.

Chorus:
Buy broom buzzems,
Buy them when they're new
Fine heather bred uns
Better never grew.

Buzzems for a penny
Rangers for a plack
If ye winnot buy
I'll tie them on my back.

Buy broom buzzems,

If aa had a horse
Ad wad hev a cairt;
If aa had a wife
She wad tyek me pairt.

Buy broom buzzems,

Had aa but a wife
Aa care not what she be-
If she's but a woman
That's enyuf for me

Buy broom buzzems,

If she liked a droppie,
Her and I'd agree;
If she didn't like it,
There's the mair for me.

Buy broom buzzems,

Part 2 - to the original, these are some of the new wimple verses that Blind Willie (the native minstrel of Newcastle) had added :—

...
Wikipedia