by Robert Burns
An’ gif it’s sae, ye sud be lickit if, so, should, beaten
Until ye fyke; fidget
Sic hauns as you sud ne’er be faiket, such hands, should, excused
Be hain’t wha like. spared
20 For me, I’m on Parnassus brink,
Rivin the words to gar them clink; tearing at, make, rhyme
Whyles daez’t wi’ love, whyles daez’t wi’ drink, sometimes dazed
Wi’ jads or masons; lasses
An’ whyles, but ay owre late, I think, sometimes, always over
25 Braw sober lessons. fine
Of a’ the thoughtless sons o’ man,
Commen’ me to the Bardie clan; commend
Except it be some idle plan
O’ rhymin clink, noise
30 The devil-haet, that I sud ban, -have it/should
They never think.
Nae thought, nae view, nae scheme o’ livin’, no,
Nae cares to gie us joy or grievin’, no, give
But just the pouchie put the nieve in, pocket, hand/fist
35 An’ while ought’s there,
Then, hiltie, skiltie, we gae scrivin’, helter-skelter, go writing
An’ fash nae mair. trouble/bother no more
Leeze me on rhyme! It’s ay a treasure, commend me to/give me
My chief, amaist my only pleasure, almost
40 At hame, a-fiel’, at wark or leisure, home, in the field, work
The Muse, poor hizzie! hussy
Tho’ rough an’ raploch be her measure, coarse
She’s seldom lazy.
Haud to the Muse, my dainty Davie: hold
45 The warl’ may play you [monie] a shavie; world, many, trick
But for the Muse, she’ll never leave ye,
Tho’ e’er sae puir, so poor
Na, even tho’ limpan wi’ the spavie no, spavin/worn joints
Frae door to door. from
Although this first appeared courtesy of David Sillar it did not enter the Burns canon until published by Dr James Currie in 1800. Sillar’s own volume appeared in 1789, but the poem by Burns is generally dated to the 1785 period. It is an epistle in colloquial language written to encourage a friend to keep writing poetry. See the first Epistle to Davie for notes on David Sillar.
Grace Before Meat
First printed in The Caledonian Mercury, August 27th, 1789.
O Thou, who kindly dost provide
For ev’ry creature’s want!
We bless thee, God of Nature wide,
For all Thy goodness lent:
And, if it please thee Heavenly guide,
May never worse be sent;
But whether granted or denied,
Lord, bless us with content!
Amen!!!
Burns printed this and the following grace under his own name in The Caledonian Mercury, August 27th, 1789 but they were not included in the 1793 Edinburgh edition. They appear in Currie, 1800, then along with Grace After Meat, in Stewart, 1802.
Grace After Meat
First printed in The Caledonian Mercury, August 27th, 1789.
O Thou, in whom we live and move,
Who mad’st the sea and shore,
Thy goodness constantly we prove,
And grateful would adore.
And if it please Thee, Pow’r above,
Still grant us with such store;
The Friend we trust, the Fair we love;
And we desire no more.
Like the above grace, Burns printed this under his own name in The Caledonian Mercury, August 27th, 1789, but they did not enter the canon until 1800 (See notes above).
I Love My Love in Secret
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
My Sandy gied to me a ring, gave
Was a’ beset wi’ diamonds fine; all
But I gied him a far better thing, gave
I gied my heart in pledge o’ his ring. gave
Chorus
5 My Sandy O, my Sandy O,
My bony, bony Sandy O!
Tho’ the love that I owe to thee I dare na show, not
Yet I love my love in secret, my Sandy O.
My Sandy brak a piece o’ gowd, broke, gold
10 While down his cheeks the saut tears row’d; salt, rolled
He took a hauf and gied it to me, half, gave
And I’ll keep it till the hour I die.
My Sandy O, &c.
The traditional text was a bawdy song cleaned up by Burns. In such rural songs the name Sandy was a stock name of this period.
Tibbie Dunbar
Tune: Jonny McGill
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
O wilt thou go wi’ me, sweet Tibbie Dunbar;
O wilt thou go wi’ me, sweet Tibbie Dunbar:
Wilt thou ride on a horse, or be drawn in a car,
Or walk by my side, O sweet Tibbie Dunbar. —
I care na thy daddie, his lands and his money; not
I care na thy kin, sae high and sae lordly: not, family, so
But say that thou’lt hae me for better for waur, have, worse
And come in thy coatie, sweet Tibbie
Dunbar. —
A traditional song renovated by Burns in his desire to put words to and preserve an old tune by a Girvan fiddler, John McGill. During the 19th century Hector MacNeil’s lyrics, Come Under My Plaidie, made the tune popular – a rare occasion of another poet upstaging Burns’s work.
Highland Harry Back Again
Tune: The Highlander’s Lament
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
My Harry was a gallant gay,
Fu’ stately strade he on the plain; full, strode/walked
But now he’s banish’d far awa, away
I’ll never see him back again.
Chorus
5 O for him back again,
O for him back again,
I wad gie a’ Knockhaspie’s land would give all
For Highland Harry back again.
When a’ the lave gae to their bed, all, rest, go
10 I wander dowie up the glen; sad
I set me down, and greet my fill, weep
And ay I wish him back again.
O, for him &c.
O were some villains hangit high, hanged
And ilka body had their ain! every, own
15 Then I might see the joyfu’ sight,
My Highland Harry back again.
O, for him &c.
The poet states in the Interleaved S.M.M. that he collected the chorus of this song from a woman’s singing in Dunblane, ‘the rest of the song is mine’. The Chambers–Wallace edition (p. 321) give two additional stanzas with sharper Jacobite lyrics, apparently not in the hand of the poet but in manuscript in the British Museum. Knock- haspie, l.7, refers, according to Cunningham, to a part of the farm land at Mossgiel. Kinsley accepts this (Vol. III, no. 164, p. 1241), but the chorus is not from Burns. The land referred to is more likely to be in Aberdeenshire where the original song and chorus come from.
The Taylor Fell thro' the Bed
Tune: Beware of the Ripells
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
The Taylor fell thro’ the bed, thimble an’ a’, tailor
The Taylor fell thro’ the bed thimble an’ a’;
The blankets were thin and the sheets they were sma’, small
The Taylor fell thro’ the bed, thimble an’ a’.
5 The sleepy bit lassie, she dreaded nae ill, no
The sleepy bit lassie she dreaded nae ill;
The weather was cauld and the lassie lay still, cold, still
She thought that a Taylor could do her nae ill.
Gie me the groat again, cannie young man, give, fourpence
10 Gie me the groat again cannie young man;
The day it is short and the night it is lang, long
The dearest siller that ever I wan. money, won
There’s somebody weary, wi’ lying her lane, alone
There’s somebody weary wi’ lying her lane;
15 There’s some that are dowie, I trow wad be fain sad, trust would
To see the bit Taylor come skippin again.
The second and fourth verses are claimed by Burns in his notes to the Interleaved S.M.M., the remainder is traditional.
Ay Waukin O
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
Simmer’s a pleasant time, summer’s
Flowers of every colour;
The water rins owre the heugh, runs, cliff or crag
And I long for my true lover!
Chorus
5 Ay waukin, O, waking
Waukin still and weary:
Sleep I can get nane, none
For thinking on my Dearie. —
When I sleep I dream,
10 When I wauk I’m eerie, wake, restless
Sleep I can get nane, none
For thinkin on my Dearie. —
Ay waukin, O, &c.
Lanely night comes on, lonely
A’ the lave are sleepin: rest/remainder
15 I think on my bonie lad,
And I bleer my een wi’ greetin. — blur, eyes, weeping
Ay waukin, O, &c.
This deceptively simple, but profoundly moving song of tormented loss, is transformed by Burns from an original song. Some modern recordings regrettably omit the Scots word ‘heugh’ from the first verse, for which there is no adequate sounding translation in English.
Beware O’ Bonie Ann
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
Ye gallants bright I red you right, advise/warn
Beware o’ bonie Ann;
Her comely face sae fu’ o’ grace, so full
Your heart she will trepan. ensnare/trap
5 Her een sae bright, like stars by night, eyes so
Her skin is like the swan;
Sae jimply lac’d her genty waist so tightly, graceful
That sweetly ye might span.
Youth, grace and love attendant move,
10 And Pleasure leads the van:
In a’ their charms, and conquering arms,
They wait on bonie Ann.
The captive bands may chain the hands,
But Love enslaves the man:
15 Ye gallants braw, I rede you a’, advise, all
Beware o’ bonie Ann.
Composed in 1788 on Miss Ann Masterton, daughter to the poet’s Edinburgh friend, the school teacher Allan Masterton (composer of musical airs, inter alia, Strathallan’s Lament).
The Gardener Wi’ His Paidle
Tune: The Gardener’s March
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
When rosy May comes in wi’ flowers
To deck her gay, green, spreading bowers;
Then busy, busy are his hours,
The Gardener wi’ his paidle. — hoe/spade
5 The chrystal waters gently fa’; crystal, fall
The merry birds are lovers a’; all
The scented breezes round him blaw, blow
The Gardener wi’ his paidle. — hoe
When purple morning starts the hare
10 To steal upon her early fare; food
Then thro’ the dew he maun repair, must
The Gardener wi’ his paidle. —
When Day, expiring in the west,
The curtain draws o’ Nature’s rest,
15 He flies to her arms he lo’es best, loves
The Gardener wi’ his paidle. —
This was unsigned by Burns on publication, but he states in the Interleaved S.M.M. that the title is old and the song his. This is a man who fertilises everything he and his ‘paidle’ touches.
On a Bank of Flowers
Tune: The Bashful Lover
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
On a bank of flowers in a summer day,
For summer lightly drest,
The youthful blooming Nelly lay,
With love and sleep opprest.
5 When Willie wand’ring thro’ the wood,
Who for her favour oft had sued;
He gaz’d, he wish’d, he fear’d, he blush’d,
And trembled where he stood.
Her closed eyes like weapons sheath’d
10 Were seal’d in soft repose;
Her lips, still as she fragrant breath’d
It richer dyed the rose.
The springing lilies sweetly prest,
Wild, wanton kiss’d her rival breast;
15 He gaz’d, he wish’d, he fear’d, he blush’d,
His bosom ill at rest.
Her robes light waving in the breeze,
Her tender limbs embrace;
Her lovely form, her native ease,
20 All harmony and grace:
Tumultuous tides his pulses roll,
A faltering, ardent kiss he stole;
He gaz’d, he wish’d, he fear’d, he blush’d,
And sigh’d his very soul.
25 As flies the partridge from the brake
On fear-inspired wings,
So Nelly starting, half-awake,
Away affrighted springs.
But Willie follow’d, — as he should,
30 He overtook her in the wood;
He vow’d, he pray’d, he found the maid
Forgiving all, and good.
This song is based on one of the same title printed in the Tea Table Miscellany, Volume 3, 1727. It is signed as from Burns in the S.M.M., suggesting that it is mostly new lyrics by Burns. Onthis type of lyrical romance Kinsley remarks ‘The situation is a common one in Restoration and eighteenth-century pastoral’ (Vol. III, no. 292, p. 1331). It could also be remarked that it is deeply pre-Keatsian.
My Love, She’s but a Lassie Yet –
Tune: Miss Farquarson’s Reel
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
Chorus
My love, she’s but a lassie yet,
My love, she’s but a lassie yet;
We’ll let her stand a year or twa, two
She’ll no be half sae saucy yet. — so
5 I rue the day I sought her O,
I rue the day I sought her O,
Wha gets her needs na say he’s woo’d, who, not
But he may say he has bought her O. —
My love, she’s &c.
Come draw a drap o’ the best o’t yet, pour, drop
10 Come draw a drap o’ the best o’t yet:
Gae seek for Pleasure whare ye will, go, where
But here I never misst it yet. — missed
My love, she’s &c.
We’re a’ dry wi’ drinkin o’t,
We’re a’ dry wi’ drinkin o’t:
15 The minister kisst the fiddler’s wife,
He could na preach for thinkin o’t. — not
My love, she’s &c.
This is another example of a song where Burns took the title from an old song and re-wrote the lyric: the first, repetitive lines of the chorus and the final ‘half stanza’ are old (See Scott Douglas, Vol. 1, p. 244 and Low, no. 133, p. 378). The tune is known as both the above title and My Love, She’s but a Lassie Yet.
Jamie, Come Try Me
Tune: Jamie, Come Try Me.
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
If thou should ask my love,
Could I deny thee?
If thou would win my love,
Jamie come try me.
Chorus
5 Jamie come try me,
Jamie come try me,
If thou would win my love
Jamie come try me.
If thou should kiss me, love,
10 Wha could espy thee?
If thou wad be my love,
Jamie come try me.
Jamie, come try &c.
Here Burns, a
s Low comments (no. 153), has composed lyrics for a tune printed in Oswald’s 1742 collection of Scottish tunes, he wished to preserve.
My Bony Mary
Tune: The Secret Kiss
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
Go fetch to me a pint o’ wine,
And fill it in a silver tassie; cup/goblet
That I may drink, before I go,
A service to my bonie lassie:
5 The boat rocks at the Pier o’ Leith,
Fu’ loud the wind blaws frae the Ferry, full, blows, from
The ship rides by the Berwick-law,
And I maun leave my bony Mary. must
The trumpets sound, the banners fly,
10 The glittering spears are ranked ready,
The shouts o’ war are heard afar,
The battle closes deep and bloody.
It’s not the roar o’ sea or shore,
Wad mak me langer wish to tarry, would, longer
15 Nor shouts o’ war that’s heard afar —
It’s leaving thee, my bony Mary!
Burns affirms that other than the first four lines, this song is his (Letter 586). The title in some editions is The Silver Tassie. On publication it was called My Bony Mary, so that title is given here. The ‘Ferry’ referred to is Queensferry. The Berwick-law, according to Chambers edition, is a hill near the shore on the Firth of Forth visible from Edinburgh, near Berwick; but it may refer to the Bass Rock.