by Robert Burns
The spreading flowers are fair,
And everything is blythe and glad,
But I am fu’ o’ care.
Thou’ll break my heart, thou bonie bird, 5
That sings upon the bough;
Thou minds me o’ the happy days
When my fause Luve was true:
Thou’ll break my heart, thou bonie bird,
That sings beside thy mate; 10
For sae I sat, and sae I sang,
And wist na o’ my fate.
Aft hae I rov’d by bonie Doon,
To see the woodbine twine;
And ilka birds sang o’ its Luve, 15
And sae did I o’ mine:
Wi’ lightsome heart I pu’d a rose,
Upon its thorny tree;
But my fause Luver staw my rose
And left the thorn wi’ me: 20
Wi’ lightsome heart I pu’d a rose,
Upon a morn in June;
And sae I flourished on the morn,
And sae was pu’d or noon!
Chronological List of Poems
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317.
The Banks o’ Doon (Second Version) (Song)
Second Version
YE flowery banks o’ bonie Doon,
How can ye blume sae fair?
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae fu’ o care!
Thou’ll break my heart, thou bonie bird, 5
That sings upon the bough!
Thou minds me o’ the happy days
When my fause Luve was true.
Thou’ll break my heart, thou bonie bird,
That sings beside thy mate; 10
For sae I sat, and sae I sang,
And wist na o’ my fate.
Aft hae I rov’d by bonie Doon,
To see the woodbine twine;
And ilka bird sang o’ its Luve, 15
And sae did I o’ mine.
Wi’ lightsome heart I pu’d a rose,
Upon its thorny tree;
But my fause Luver staw my rose,
And left the thorn wi’ me. 20
Wi’ lightsome heart I pu’d a rose,
Upon a morn in June;
And sae I flourished on the morn,
And sae was pu’d or noon.
Chronological List of Poems
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318.
The Banks o’ Doon (Third Version) (Song)
Third Version
YE banks and braes o’ bonie Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary fu’ o’ care!
Thou’ll break my heart, thou warbling bird, 5
That wantons thro’ the flowering thorn:
Thou minds me o’ departed joys,
Departed never to return.
Aft hae I rov’d by Bonie Doon,
To see the rose and woodbine twine: 10
And ilka bird sang o’ its Luve,
And fondly sae did I o’ mine;
Wi’ lightsome heart I pu’d a rose,
Fu’ sweet upon its thorny tree!
And may fause Luver staw my rose, 15
But ah! he left the thorn wi’ me.
Chronological List of Poems
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319.
Lament for James, Earl of Glencairn
THE WIND blew hollow frae the hills,
By fits the sun’s departing beam
Look’d on the fading yellow woods,
That wav’d o’er Lugar’s winding stream:
Beneath a craigy steep, a Bard, 5
Laden with years and meikle pain,
In loud lament bewail’d his lord,
Whom Death had all untimely ta’en.
He lean’d him to an ancient aik,
Whose trunk was mould’ring down with years; 10
His locks were bleached white with time,
His hoary cheek was wet wi’ tears!
And as he touch’d his trembling harp,
And as he tun’d his doleful sang,
The winds, lamenting thro’ their caves, 15
To Echo bore the notes alang.
“Ye scatter’d birds that faintly sing,
The reliques o’ the vernal queir!
Ye woods that shed on a’ the winds
The honours of the agèd year! 20
A few short months, and glad and gay,
Again ye’ll charm the ear and e’e;
But nocht in all-revolving time
Can gladness bring again to me.
“I am a bending agèd tree, 25
That long has stood the wind and rain;
But now has come a cruel blast,
And my last hald of earth is gane;
Nae leaf o’ mine shall greet the spring,
Nae simmer sun exalt my bloom; 30
But I maun lie before the storm,
And ithers plant them in my room.
“I’ve seen sae mony changefu’ years,
On earth I am a stranger grown:
I wander in the ways of men, 35
Alike unknowing, and unknown:
Unheard, unpitied, unreliev’d,
I bear alane my lade o’ care,
For silent, low, on beds of dust,
Lie a’ that would my sorrows share. 40
“And last, (the sum of a’ my griefs!)
My noble master lies in clay;
The flow’r amang our barons bold,
His country’s pride, his country’s stay:
In weary being now I pine, 45
For a’ the life of life is dead,
And hope has left may aged ken,
On forward wing for ever fled.
“Awake thy last sad voice, my harp!
The voice of woe and wild despair! 50
Awake, resound thy latest lay,
Then sleep in silence evermair!
And thou, my last, best, only, friend,
That fillest an untimely tomb,
Accept this tribute from the Bard 55
Thou brought from Fortune’s mirkest gloom.
“In Poverty’s low barren vale,
Thick mists obscure involv’d me round;
Though oft I turn’d the wistful eye,
Nae ray of fame was to be found: 60
Thou found’st me, like the morning sun
That melts the fogs in limpid air,
The friendless bard and rustic song
Became alike thy fostering care.
“O! why has worth so short a date, 65
While villains ripen grey with time?
Must thou, the noble, gen’rous, great,
Fall in bold manhood’s hardy prim
Why did I live to see that day —
A day to me so full of woe? 70
O! had I met the mortal shaft
That laid my benefactor low!
“The bridegroom may forget the bride
Was made his wedded wife yestreen;
The monarch may forget the crown 75
That on his head an hour has been;
The mother may forget the child
That smiles sae sweetly on her knee;
But I’ll remember thee, Glencairn,
And a’ that thou hast done for me!” 80
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320.
Lines to Sir John Whitefoord, Bart
With the Lament on the Death of the Earl of Glencairn
THOU, who thy honour as thy God rever’st,
Who, save thy mind’s reproach, nought earthly fear’st,
To thee this votive offering I impart,
The tearful tribute of a broken heart.
The Friend thou valued’st, I, the Patron lov’d; 5
His worth, his honour, all the world approved:
We’ll mourn till we too go as he has gone,
And tread the shadowy path to that dark world unknown.
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321.
Craigieburn Wood (Song)
SWEET closes the ev’ning on Craigieburn Wood,
And blythely awaukens the morrow;
But the pride o’ the spring in the Craigieburn Wood
Can yield to me nothing but sorrow.
Chorus. — Beyond thee, dearie, beyond thee, dearie, 5
And O to be lying beyond thee!
O sweetly, soundly, weel may he sleep
That’s laid in the bed beyond thee!
I see the spreading leaves and flowers,
I hear the wild birds singing; 10
But pleasure they hae nane for me,
While care my heart is wringing.
Beyond thee, &c.
I can na tell, I maun na tell,
I daur na for your anger; 15
But secret love will break my heart,
If I conceal it langer.
Beyond thee, &c.
I see thee gracefu’, straight and tall,
I see thee sweet and bonie; 20
But oh, what will my torment be,
If thou refuse thy Johnie!
Beyond thee, &c.
To see thee in another’s arms,
In love to lie and languish, 25
‘Twad be my dead, that will be seen,
My heart wad burst wi’ anguish.
Beyond thee, &c.
But Jeanie, say thou wilt be mine,
Say thou lo’es nane before me; 30
And a’ may days o’ life to come
I’ll gratefully adore thee,
Beyond thee, &c.
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322.
The Bonie Wee Thing (Song)
Chorus. — Bonie wee thing, cannie wee thing,
Lovely wee thing, wert thou mine,
I wad wear thee in my bosom,
Lest my jewel it should tine.
WISHFULLY I look and languish 5
In that bonie face o’ thine,
And my heart it stounds wi’ anguish,
Lest my wee thing be na mine.
Bonie wee thing, &c.
Wit, and Grace, and Love, and Beauty, 10
In ae constellation shine;
To adore thee is my duty,
Goddess o’ this soul o’ mine!
Bonie wee thing, &c.
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323.
Epigram on Miss Davies
On being asked why she had been formed so little, and Mrs. A —— so big.
ASK why God made the gem so small?
And why so huge the granite? —
Because God meant mankind should set
That higher value on it.
Chronological List of Poems
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324.
The Charms of Lovely Davies (Song)
Tune— “Miss Muir.”
O HOW shall I, unskilfu’, try
The poet’s occupation?
The tunefu’ powers, in happy hours,
That whisper inspiration;
Even they maun dare an effort mair 5
Than aught they ever gave us,
Ere they rehearse, in equal verse,
The charms o’ lovely Davies.
Each eye it cheers when she appears,
Like Phoebus in the morning, 10
When past the shower, and every flower
The garden is adorning:
As the wretch looks o’er Siberia’s shore,
When winter-bound the wave is;
Sae droops our heart, when we maun part 15
Frae charming, lovely Davies.
Her smile’s a gift frae ‘boon the lift,
That maks us mair than princes;
A sceptred hand, a king’s command,
Is in her darting glances; 20
The man in arms ‘gainst female charms
Even he her willing slave is,
He hugs his chain, and owns the reign
Of conquering, lovely Davies.
My Muse, to dream of such a theme, 25
Her feeble powers surrender:
The eagle’s gaze alone surveys
The sun’s meridian splendour.
I wad in vain essay the strain,
The deed too daring brave is; 30
I’ll drap the lyre, and mute admire
The charms o’ lovely Davies.
Chronological List of Poems
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325.
What can a Young Lassie do wi’ an Auld Man? (Song)
WHAT can a young lassie, what shall a young lassie,
What can a young lassie do wi’ an auld man?
Bad luck on the penny that tempted my minnie
To sell her puir Jenny for siller an’ lan’.
Bad luck on the penny that tempted my minnie 5
To sell her puir Jenny for siller an’ lan’!
He’s always compleenin’ frae mornin’ to e’enin’,
He hoasts and he hirples the weary day lang;
He’s doylt and he’s dozin, his blude it is frozen, —
O dreary’s the night wi’ a crazy auld man! 10
He’s doylt and he’s dozin, his blude it is frozen,
O dreary’s the night wi’ a crazy auld man.
He hums and he hankers, he frets and he cankers,
I never can please him do a’ that I can;
He’s peevish an’ jealous o’ a’ the young fellows, — 15
O dool on the day I met wi’ an auld man!
He’s peevish an’ jealous o’ a’ the young fellows,
O dool on the day I met wi’ an auld man.
My auld auntie Katie upon me taks pity,
I’ll do my endeavour to follow her plan; 20
I’ll cross him an’ wrack him, until I heartbreak him
And then his auld brass will buy me a new pan,
I’ll cross him an’ wrack him, until I heartbreak him,
And then his auld brass will buy me a new pan.
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326.
The Posie (Song)
O LUVE will venture in where it daur na weel be seen,
O luve will venture in where wisdom ance has been;
But I will doun yon river rove, amang the wood sae green,
And a’ to pu’ a Posie to my ain dear May.
The primrose I will pu’, the firstling o’ the year, 5
And I will pu’ the pink, the emblem o’ my dear;
For she’s the pink o’ womankind, and blooms without a peer,
And a’ to be a Posie to my ain dear May.
I’ll pu’ the budding rose, when Phoebus peeps in view,
For it’s like a baumy kiss o’ her sweet, bonie mou; 10
The hyacinth’s for constancy wi’ its unchanging blue,
And a’ to be a Posie to my ain dear May.
The lily it is pure, and the lily it is fair,
And in her lovely bosom I’ll place the lily there;
The daisy’s for simplicity and unaffected air, 15
And a’ to be a Posie to my ain dear May.
The hawthorn I will pu’, wi’ its locks o’ siller gray,
Where, like an aged man, it stands at break o’ day;
But the songster’s nest within the bush I winna tak away
And a’ to be a Posie to my ain dear May. 20
The woodbine I will pu’, when the e’ening star is near,
And the diamond draps o’ dew shall be her een sae clear;
The violet’s for modesty, which weel she fa’s to wear,
And a’ to be a Posie to my ain dear May.
I’ll tie the Posie round wi’ the silken band o’ luve, 25
; And I’ll place it in her breast, and I’ll swear by a’ above,
That to my latest draught o’ life the band shall ne’er remove,
And this will be a Posie to my ain dear May.
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327.
On Glenriddell’s Fox breaking his chain: A Fragment
A Fragment, 1791.
THOU, Liberty, thou art my theme;
Not such as idle poets dream,
Who trick thee up a heathen goddess
That a fantastic cap and rod has;
Such stale conceits are poor and silly; 5
I paint thee out, a Highland filly,
A sturdy, stubborn, handsome dapple,
As sleek’s a mouse, as round’s an apple,
That when thou pleasest canst do wonders;
But when thy luckless rider blunders, 10
Or if thy fancy should demur there,
Wilt break thy neck ere thou go further.
These things premised, I sing a Fox,
Was caught among his native rocks,
And to a dirty kennel chained, 15
How he his liberty regained.
Glenriddell! Whig without a stain,
A Whig in principle and grain,
Could’st thou enslave a free-born creature,