Robert Burns: How To Know Him Part 12

Contented wi' little, and cantie wi' mair, [cheerful]

Whene'er I forgather wi' Sorrow and Care, [meet]

I gie them a skelp, as they're creepin' alang, [spank]

Wi' a cog o' gude swats, and an auld Scottish sang. [bowl of good ale]

I whyles claw the elbow o' troublesome thought; [sometimes]

But man is a soger, and life is a faught: [soldier, fight]

My mirth and gude humour are coin in my pouch, [pocket]

And my freedom's my lairds.h.i.+p nae monarch daur touch. [dare]

A towmond o' trouble, should that be my fa', [twelvemonth, lot]

A night o' gude fellows.h.i.+p sowthers it a'; [solders]

When at the blythe end of our journey at last, Wha the deil ever thinks o' the road he has past? [Who the devil]

Blind Chance, let her snapper and stoyte on her way, [stumble, stagger]

Be't to me, be't frae me, e'en let the jad gae: Come ease or come travail, come pleasure or pain, My warst word is--'Welcome, and welcome again!'

MY FATHER WAS A FARMER

My Father was a Farmer upon the Carrick border, O, And carefully he bred me in decency and order, O; He bade me act a manly part, though I had ne'er a farthing, O, For without an honest manly heart, no man was worth regarding, O.

Then out into the world my course I did determine, O; Tho' to be rich was not my wish, yet to be great was charming, O: My talents they were not the worst, nor yet my education, O; Resolv'd was I, at least to try, to mend my situation, O.

In many a way, and vain essay, I courted Fortune's favour, O: Some cause unseen still stept between to frustrate each endeavour, O; Sometimes by foes I was o'erpower'd, sometimes by friends forsaken, O; And when my hope was at the top, I still was worst mistaken, O.

Then sore hara.s.s'd, and tir'd at last, with Fortune's vain delusion, O, I dropt my schemes, like idle dreams, and came to this conclusion, O-- The past was bad, and the future hid; its good or ill untried, O; But the present hour was in my pow'r, and so I would enjoy it, O.

No help, nor hope, nor view had I, nor person to befriend me, O; So I must toil, and sweat and broil, and labour to sustain me, O; To plough and sow, to reap and mow, my father bred me early, O; For one, he said, to labour bred, was a match for Fortune fairly, O.

Thus all obscure, unknown, and poor, thro' life I'm doom'd to wander, O, Till down my weary bones I lay in everlasting slumber, O; No view nor care, but shun whate'er might breed me pain or sorrow, O, I live to-day as well's I may, regardless of to-morrow, O.

But cheerful still, I am as well as a monarch in a palace, O.

Tho' Fortune's frown still hunts me down, with all her wonted malice, O; I make indeed my daily bread, but ne'er can make it farther, O; But, as daily bread is all I need, I do not much regard her, O.

When sometimes by my labour I earn a little money, O, Some unforeseen misfortune comes generally upon me, O-- Mischance, mistake, or by neglect, or my good-natur'd folly, O; But come what will, I've sworn it still, I'll ne'er be melancholy, O.

All you who follow wealth and power with unremitting ardour, O, The more in this you look for bliss, you leave your view the farther, O; Had you the wealth Potosi boasts, or nations to adore you, O, A cheerful honest-hearted clown I will prefer before you, O.

The stress laid upon that part of Burns's production which has relation, near or remote, to his personal experiences with women is, in the current estimate, somewhat disproportionate. A surprisingly large number of his most effective songs are purely dramatic, are placed in the mouth of a man who is clearly not the poet, or, more frequently, in the mouth of a woman. There is little evidence that Burns would have been capable of sustained dramatic composition; on the other hand, he was far from being limited to purely personal lyric utterance. His versatility in giving expression to the amorous moods of the other s.e.x is almost as great as in direct confession. A group of these dramatic lyrics will demonstrate this.

O FOR ANE AN' TWENTY, TAM!

An' O for ane an' twenty, Tam!

An' hey, sweet are an' twenty, Tam!

I'll learn my kin a rattlin' sang, [teach]

An' I saw ane an' twenty, Tam. [If]

They snool me sair, and haud me down, [snub, sorely, hold]

An' gar me look like bluntie, Tam! [make, a fool]

But three short years will soon wheel roun', An' then comes ane an' twenty, Tam.

A gleib o' lan', a claut o' gear, [portion, handful of money]

Was left me by my auntie, Tam; At kith or kin I need na spier, [ask]

An' I saw ane and twenty, Tam.

They'll hae me wed a wealthy coof, [have, dolt]

Tho' I mysel' hae plenty, Tam; But hear'st thou, laddie? there's my loof, [hand]

I'm thine at ane and twenty, Tam!

YE BANKS AND BRAES

(Second Version)

Ye flowery banks o' bonnie 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 bonnie bird, That sings upon the bough; Thou minds me o' the happy days, [remindest]

When my fause luve was true.

Thou'll break my heart, thou bonnie bird, That sings beside thy mate; For sae I sat, and sae I sang, And wist na o' my fate.

Aft hae I rov'd by bonnie Doon, To see the wood-bine twine, And ilka bird sang o' its love, And sae did I o' mine.

Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose Frae off its th.o.r.n.y tree: But my fause luver staw my rose, [stole]

And left the thorn wi' me.

(Third Version)

Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon, How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?

How can ye chant, ye little birds, And I sae weary fu' o' care?

Thou'lt break my heart, thou warbling bird, That wantons thro' the flowering thorn; Thou minds me o' departed joys, Departed never to return.

Aft hae I rov'd by bonnie Doon, To see the rose and woodbine twine; And ilka bird sang o' its love, And fondly sae did I o' mine.

Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose, Fu' sweet upon its th.o.r.n.y tree; And my fause lover staw my rose, [stole]

But ah! he left the thorn wi' me.

SIMMER'S A PLEASANT TIME

Simmer's a pleasant time, Flow'rs of ev'ry colour; The water rins o'er the heugh, [crag]

And I long for my true lover.

Ay waukin O, [waking]

Waukin still and wearie: Sleep I can get nane For thinking on my dearie.

When I sleep I dream, When I wauk I'm eerie; [superst.i.tiously afraid]