Poems and Songs of Robert Burns

by Robert Burns

  Out-owre my beard."

  "Weel, weel!" says I, "a bargain be't;

  Come, gie's your hand, an' sae we're gree't;

  We'll ease our shanks an tak a seat-

  Come, gie's your news;

  This while ye hae been mony a gate,

  At mony a house."^2

  [Footnote 1: This recontre happened in seed-time, 1785. - R.B.]

  [Footnote 2: An epidemical fever was then raging in that country. - R.B.]

  "Ay, ay!" quo' he, an' shook his head,

  "It's e'en a lang, lang time indeed

  Sin' I began to nick the thread,

  An' choke the breath:

  Folk maun do something for their bread,

  An' sae maun Death.

  "Sax thousand years are near-hand fled

  Sin' I was to the butching bred,

  An' mony a scheme in vain's been laid,

  To stap or scar me;

  Till ane Hornbook's^3 ta'en up the trade,

  And faith! he'll waur me.

  "Ye ken Hornbook i' the clachan,

  Deil mak his king's-hood in spleuchan!

  He's grown sae weel acquaint wi' Buchan^4

  And ither chaps,

  The weans haud out their fingers laughin,

  An' pouk my hips.

  "See, here's a scythe, an' there's dart,

  They hae pierc'd mony a gallant heart;

  But Doctor Hornbook, wi' his art

  An' cursed skill,

  Has made them baith no worth a f-t,

  Damn'd haet they'll kill!

  "'Twas but yestreen, nae farther gane,

  I threw a noble throw at ane;

  Wi' less, I'm sure, I've hundreds slain;

  But deil-ma-care,

  It just play'd dirl on the bane,

  But did nae mair.

  "Hornbook was by, wi' ready art,

  An' had sae fortify'd the part,

  [Footnote 3: This gentleman, Dr. Hornbook, is professionally a brother of the

  sovereign Order of the Ferula; but, by intuition and inspiration, is at once

  an apothecary, surgeon, and physician. - R.B.]

  [Footnote 4: Burchan's Domestic Medicine. - R.B.]

  That when I looked to my dart,

  It was sae blunt,

  Fient haet o't wad hae pierc'd the heart

  Of a kail-runt.

  "I drew my scythe in sic a fury,

  I near-hand cowpit wi' my hurry,

  But yet the bauld Apothecary

  Withstood the shock;

  I might as weel hae tried a quarry

  O' hard whin rock.

  "Ev'n them he canna get attended,

  Altho' their face he ne'er had kend it,

  Just-in a kail-blade, an' sent it,

  As soon's he smells 't,

  Baith their disease, and what will mend it,

  At once he tells 't.

  "And then, a' doctor's saws an' whittles,

  Of a' dimensions, shapes, an' mettles,

  A' kind o' boxes, mugs, an' bottles,

  He's sure to hae;

  Their Latin names as fast he rattles

  as A B C.

  "Calces o' fossils, earths, and trees;

  True sal-marinum o' the seas;

  The farina of beans an' pease,

  He has't in plenty;

  Aqua-fontis, what you please,

  He can content ye.

  "Forbye some new, uncommon weapons,

  Urinus spiritus of capons;

  Or mite-horn shavings, filings, scrapings,

  Distill'd per se;

  Sal-alkali o' midge-tail clippings,

  And mony mae."

  "Waes me for Johnie Ged's^5 Hole now,"

  Quoth I, "if that thae news be true!

  His braw calf-ward whare gowans grew,

  Sae white and bonie,

  Nae doubt they'll rive it wi' the plew;

  They'll ruin Johnie!"

  The creature grain'd an eldritch laugh,

  And says "Ye needna yoke the pleugh,

  Kirkyards will soon be till'd eneugh,

  Tak ye nae fear:

  They'll be trench'd wi' mony a sheugh,

  In twa-three year.

  "Whare I kill'd ane, a fair strae-death,

  By loss o' blood or want of breath

  This night I'm free to tak my aith,

  That Hornbook's skill

  Has clad a score i' their last claith,

  By drap an' pill.

  "An honest wabster to his trade,

  Whase wife's twa nieves were scarce weel-bred

  Gat tippence-worth to mend her head,

  When it was sair;

  The wife slade cannie to her bed,

  But ne'er spak mair.

  "A country laird had ta'en the batts,

  Or some curmurring in his guts,

  His only son for Hornbook sets,

  An' pays him well:

  The lad, for twa guid gimmer-pets,

  Was laird himsel'.

  "A bonie lass-ye kend her name-

  Some ill-brewn drink had hov'd her wame;

  She trusts hersel', to hide the shame,

  In Hornbook's care;

  Horn sent her aff to her lang hame,

  To hide it there.

  [Footnote 5: The grave-digger. - R.B.]

  "That's just a swatch o' Hornbook's way;

  Thus goes he on from day to day,

  Thus does he poison, kill, an' slay,

  An's weel paid for't;

  Yet stops me o' my lawfu' prey,

  Wi' his damn'd dirt:

  "But, hark! I'll tell you of a plot,

  Tho' dinna ye be speakin o't;

  I'll nail the self-conceited sot,

  As dead's a herrin;

  Neist time we meet, I'll wad a groat,

  He gets his fairin!"

  But just as he began to tell,

  The auld kirk-hammer strak the bell

  Some wee short hour ayont the twal',

  Which rais'd us baith:

  I took the way that pleas'd mysel',

  And sae did Death.

  Epistle To J. Lapraik, An Old Scottish Bard

  April 1, 1785

  While briers an' woodbines budding green,

  An' paitricks scraichin loud at e'en,

  An' morning poussie whiddin seen,

  Inspire my muse,

  This freedom, in an unknown frien',

  I pray excuse.

  On Fasten-e'en we had a rockin,

  To ca' the crack and weave our stockin;

  And there was muckle fun and jokin,

  Ye need na doubt;

  At length we had a hearty yokin

  At sang about.

  There was ae sang, amang the rest,

  Aboon them a' it pleas'd me best,

  That some kind husband had addrest

  To some sweet wife;

  It thirl'd the heart-strings thro' the breast,

  A' to the life.

  I've scarce heard ought describ'd sae weel,

  What gen'rous, manly bosoms feel;

  Thought I "Can this be Pope, or Steele,

  Or Beattie's wark?"

  They tauld me 'twas an odd kind chiel

  About Muirkirk.

  It pat me fidgin-fain to hear't,

  An' sae about him there I speir't;

  Then a' that kent him round declar'd

  He had ingine;

  That nane excell'd it, few cam near't,

  It was sae fine:

  That, set him to a pint of ale,

  An' either douce or merry tale,

  Or rhymes an' sangs he'd made himsel,

  Or witty catches-

  'Tween Inverness an' Teviotdale,

  He had few matches.

  Then up I gat, an' swoor an aith,

  Tho' I should pawn my pleugh an' graith,

  Or die a cadger pownie's death,

  At some dyke-back,

  A pint an' gill I'd gie the
m baith,

  To hear your crack.

  But, first an' foremost, I should tell,

  Amaist as soon as I could spell,

  I to the crambo-jingle fell;

  Tho' rude an' rough-

  Yet crooning to a body's sel'

  Does weel eneugh.

  I am nae poet, in a sense;

  But just a rhymer like by chance,

  An' hae to learning nae pretence;

  Yet, what the matter?

  Whene'er my muse does on me glance,

  I jingle at her.

  Your critic-folk may cock their nose,

  And say, "How can you e'er propose,

  You wha ken hardly verse frae prose,

  To mak a sang?"

  But, by your leaves, my learned foes,

  Ye're maybe wrang.

  What's a' your jargon o' your schools-

  Your Latin names for horns an' stools?

  If honest Nature made you fools,

  What sairs your grammars?

  Ye'd better taen up spades and shools,

  Or knappin-hammers.

  A set o' dull, conceited hashes

  Confuse their brains in college classes!

  They gang in stirks, and come out asses,

  Plain truth to speak;

  An' syne they think to climb Parnassus

  By dint o' Greek!

  Gie me ae spark o' nature's fire,

  That's a' the learning I desire;

  Then tho' I drudge thro' dub an' mire

  At pleugh or cart,

  My muse, tho' hamely in attire,

  May touch the heart.

  O for a spunk o' Allan's glee,

  Or Fergusson's the bauld an' slee,

  Or bright Lapraik's, my friend to be,

  If I can hit it!

  That would be lear eneugh for me,

  If I could get it.

  Now, sir, if ye hae friends enow,

  Tho' real friends, I b'lieve, are few;

  Yet, if your catalogue be fu',

  I'se no insist:

  But, gif ye want ae friend that's true,

  I'm on your list.

  I winna blaw about mysel,

  As ill I like my fauts to tell;

  But friends, an' folk that wish me well,

  They sometimes roose me;

  Tho' I maun own, as mony still

  As far abuse me.

  There's ae wee faut they whiles lay to me,

  I like the lasses-Gude forgie me!

  For mony a plack they wheedle frae me

  At dance or fair;

  Maybe some ither thing they gie me,

  They weel can spare.

  But Mauchline Race, or Mauchline Fair,

  I should be proud to meet you there;

  We'se gie ae night's discharge to care,

  If we forgather;

  An' hae a swap o' rhymin-ware

  Wi' ane anither.

  The four-gill chap, we'se gar him clatter,

  An' kirsen him wi' reekin water;

  Syne we'll sit down an' tak our whitter,

  To cheer our heart;

  An' faith, we'se be acquainted better

  Before we part.

  Awa ye selfish, war'ly race,

  Wha think that havins, sense, an' grace,

  Ev'n love an' friendship should give place

  To catch-the-plack!

  I dinna like to see your face,

  Nor hear your crack.

  But ye whom social pleasure charms

  Whose hearts the tide of kindness warms,

  Who hold your being on the terms,

  "Each aid the others,"

  Come to my bowl, come to my arms,

  My friends, my brothers!

  But, to conclude my lang epistle,

  As my auld pen's worn to the gristle,

  Twa lines frae you wad gar me fissle,

  Who am, most fervent,

  While I can either sing or whistle,

  Your friend and servant.

  Second Epistle To J. Lapraik

  April 21, 1785

  While new-ca'd kye rowte at the stake

  An' pownies reek in pleugh or braik,

  This hour on e'enin's edge I take,

  To own I'm debtor

  To honest-hearted, auld Lapraik,

  For his kind letter.

  Forjesket sair, with weary legs,

  Rattlin the corn out-owre the rigs,

  Or dealing thro' amang the naigs

  Their ten-hours' bite,

  My awkart Muse sair pleads and begs

  I would na write.

  The tapetless, ramfeezl'd hizzie,

  She's saft at best an' something lazy:

  Quo' she, "Ye ken we've been sae busy

  This month an' mair,

  That trowth, my head is grown right dizzie,

  An' something sair."

  Her dowff excuses pat me mad;

  "Conscience," says I, "ye thowless jade!

  I'll write, an' that a hearty blaud,

  This vera night;

  So dinna ye affront your trade,

  But rhyme it right.

  "Shall bauld Lapraik, the king o' hearts,

  Tho' mankind were a pack o' cartes,

  Roose you sae weel for your deserts,

  In terms sae friendly;

  Yet ye'll neglect to shaw your parts

  An' thank him kindly?"

  Sae I gat paper in a blink,

  An' down gaed stumpie in the ink:

  Quoth I, "Before I sleep a wink,

  I vow I'll close it;

  An' if ye winna mak it clink,

  By Jove, I'll prose it!"

  Sae I've begun to scrawl, but whether

  In rhyme, or prose, or baith thegither;

  Or some hotch-potch that's rightly neither,

  Let time mak proof;

  But I shall scribble down some blether

  Just clean aff-loof.

  My worthy friend, ne'er grudge an' carp,

  Tho' fortune use you hard an' sharp;

  Come, kittle up your moorland harp

  Wi' gleesome touch!

  Ne'er mind how Fortune waft and warp;

  She's but a bitch.

  She 's gien me mony a jirt an' fleg,

  Sin' I could striddle owre a rig;

  But, by the Lord, tho' I should beg

  Wi' lyart pow,

  I'll laugh an' sing, an' shake my leg,

  As lang's I dow!

  Now comes the sax-an'-twentieth simmer

  I've seen the bud upon the timmer,

  Still persecuted by the limmer

  Frae year to year;

  But yet, despite the kittle kimmer,

  I, Rob, am here.

  Do ye envy the city gent,

  Behint a kist to lie an' sklent;

  Or pursue-proud, big wi' cent. per cent.

  An' muckle wame,

  In some bit brugh to represent

  A bailie's name?

  Or is't the paughty, feudal thane,

  Wi' ruffl'd sark an' glancing cane,

  Wha thinks himsel nae sheep-shank bane,

  But lordly stalks;

  While caps and bonnets aff are taen,

  As by he walks?

  "O Thou wha gies us each guid gift!

  Gie me o' wit an' sense a lift,

  Then turn me, if thou please, adrift,

  Thro' Scotland wide;

  Wi' cits nor lairds I wadna shift,

  In a' their pride!"

  Were this the charter of our state,

  "On pain o' hell be rich an' great,"

  Damnation then would be our fate,

  Beyond remead;

  But, thanks to heaven, that's no the gate

  We learn our creed.

  For thus the royal mandate ran,

  When first the human race began;

  "The social, friendly, honest man,

  Whate'er he be-

  'Tis he fulfils great Nature's plan,


  And none but he."

  O mandate glorious and divine!

  The ragged followers o' the Nine,

  Poor, thoughtless devils! yet may shine

  In glorious light,

  While sordid sons o' Mammon's line

  Are dark as night!

  Tho' here they scrape, an' squeeze, an' growl,

  Their worthless nievefu' of a soul

  May in some future carcase howl,

  The forest's fright;

  Or in some day-detesting owl

  May shun the light.

  Then may Lapraik and Burns arise,

  To reach their native, kindred skies,

  And sing their pleasures, hopes an' joys,

  In some mild sphere;

  Still closer knit in friendship's ties,

  Each passing year!

  Epistle To William Simson

  Schoolmaster, Ochiltree. - May, 1785

  I gat your letter, winsome Willie;

  Wi' gratefu' heart I thank you brawlie;

  Tho' I maun say't, I wad be silly,

  And unco vain,

  Should I believe, my coaxin billie

  Your flatterin strain.

  But I'se believe ye kindly meant it:

  I sud be laith to think ye hinted

  Ironic satire, sidelins sklented

  On my poor Musie;

  Tho' in sic phraisin terms ye've penn'd it,

  I scarce excuse ye.

  My senses wad be in a creel,

  Should I but dare a hope to speel

  Wi' Allan, or wi' Gilbertfield,

  The braes o' fame;

  Or Fergusson, the writer-chiel,

  A deathless name.

  (O Fergusson! thy glorious parts

  Ill suited law's dry, musty arts!

  My curse upon your whunstane hearts,

  Ye E'nbrugh gentry!

  The tithe o' what ye waste at cartes

  Wad stow'd his pantry!)

  Yet when a tale comes i' my head,

  Or lassies gie my heart a screed-

  As whiles they're like to be my dead,