The Canongate Burns
Page 54
As I Was a Wand’ring
Tune: Rinn m’eudial mo mhealladh – a Gaelic air
First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
As I was a wand’ring ae midsummer e’enin, one, evening
The pipers and youngsters were makin their game, having fun
Amang them I spyed my faithless fause luver, among, false
Which bled a’ the wounds o’ my dolour again. —
Chorus
5 Weel, since he has left me, may pleasure gae wi’ him; well, go
I may be distress’d, but I winna complain: will not
I’ll flatter my fancy I may get anither, another
My heart it shall never be broken for ane. — one
I could na get sleepin till dawin, for greetin; not, dawn, weeping
10 The tears trickl’d down like the hail and the rain:
Had I na got greetin, my heart wad a broken, not, crying, would
For Oh, luve forsaken’s a tormenting pain!
Weel, since he has left me &c.
Although he has left me for greed o’ the siller, money
I dinna envy him the gains he can win: do not
15 I rather wad bear a’ the lade o’ my sorrow, would, load
Than ever hae acted sae faithless to him. — have, so
Weel, since he has left me &c.
This is omitted by Mackay but accepted by Kinsley. Two versions of this traditional song have been given as the work of Burns. On this version, Kinsley asserts that only the last verse is by Burns. Kinsley has repeated Scott Douglas’s error. The latter printed Johnson’s text and asserted that only the final stanza came from Burns. The original text from the S.M.M. should not be the one attributed to Burns. This can be clearly seen if we compare the original text with the revised Burns one above:
As I was walking ae May morning,
The fiddlers and youngsters were makin their game;
And there I saw my faithless lover,
And a’ my sorrows returned again.
Chorus
5 Weel, since he’s gane – may joy gae wi’ him!
It’s never be he that shall gar me complain:
I’ll cheer up my heart, and I will get another,
I’ll never lay a’ my luve upon ane ane. –
I could na get sleepin’ yestreen, for weepin,
10 The tears trickl’d down like showers o’ rain;
And had I no got greetin, my heart wad ha’ broken,
And O! but love’s a tormenting pain!
Weel, since he has gane &c.
Although he has left me for greed o’ the siller,
I dinna envy him the gains he can win:
15 I rather wad bear a’ the lade o’ my sorrow,
Than ever hae acted sae faithless to him. –
Weel, since he has gane &c.
Lovely Davies
Tune: Miss Muir
First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
O how shall I, unskilfu’, try
The Poet’s occupation?
The tunefu’ Powers, in happy hours,
That whisper, inspiration,
5 Even they maun dare an effort mair may, more
Than aught they ever gave us,
Or they rehearse in equal verse
The charms o’ lovely DAVIES. —
Each eye it cheers, when she appears,
10 Like Phoebus in the morning,
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;
15 Sae droops our heart when we maun part so, must
Frae charming, lovely DAVIES. — from
Her smile’s a gift frae boon the lift, from above, sky
That maks us mair than princes; more
A sceptred hand, a king’s command,
20 Is in her darting glances:
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. —
25 My Muse to dream of such a theme,
Her feeble powers surrender;
The eagle’s gaze alone surveys;
The sun’s meridian splendour:
I wad in vain essay the strain, would
30 The deed too daring brave is;
I’ll drap the lyre, and, mute, admire drop/cease
The charms o’ lovely DAVIES. —
Letter 472A, which presumably accompanied this song, is a much more astonishing piece of prose than his conventional song.
The Weary Pund o’ Tow
First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
I bought my wife a stane o’ lint, stone in weight, flax
As gude as e’er did grow; good
And a’ that she has made o’ that
Is ae poor pund o’ tow. one, pound string
Chorus
5 The weary pund, the weary pund, pound
The weary pund o’ tow; flax string
I think my wife will end her life,
Before she spin her tow. —
There sat a bottle in a bole, hole in a wall
10 Beyont the ingle lowe; near, fireside flame
And ay she took the tither souk another such
To drouk the stourie tow. — wet, dusty flax string
The weary pund, &c.
Quoth I, for shame, ye dirty dame,
Gae spin your tap o’ tow! go
15 She took the rock, and wi’ a knock, distaff
She brake it o’er my pow. — head
The weary pund, &c.
At last her feet, I sang to see’t,
Gaed foremost o’er the knowe; went, edge of hill
And or I wad anither jad, wed another hussy
20 I’ll wallop in a tow. —
The weary pund, &c.
As Kinsley has rightly remarked (Vol. III, no. 360, p. 1395), this is based on a traditional English song, published in a collection The Charmer in 1782, beginning ‘I bought my woman and my wife half a pound of tow’. As with other English songs, Burns has given this what he termed a Scots dress.
I Hae a Wife o’ My Ain
First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
I hae a wife o’ my ain, have, own
I’ll partake wi’ naebody; nobody
I’ll tak Cuckold frae nane, take, from none
I’ll gie Cuckold to naebody. — give, nobody
5 I hae a penny to spend, have
There, thanks to naebody;
I hae naething to lend, have nothing
I’ll borrow frae naebody. — from nobody
I am naebody’s lord,
10 I’ll be slave to naebody;
I hae a gude braid sword, have good broad
I’ll tak dunts frae naebody. — blows from
I’ll be merry and free,
I’ll be sad for naebody;
15 Naebody cares for me,
I care for naebody. —
This is adapted from an old simple Scots ballad on defiant self-sufficiency against poverty and was not composed by Burns just after his marriage as some editors have erroneously believed. If it had been Burns’s own work he would have signed it in the S.M.M.
When She Cam Ben, She Bobbed
First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
O when she cam ben she bobbed fu’ law, came in, bowed
O when she cam ben she bobbed fu’ law;
And when she cam’ ben she kiss’d Cockpen,
And syne she deny’d she did it at a’. — later, at all
5 And was na Cockpen right saucy witha’, not, everyone
And was na Cockpen right saucy witha’,
In leaving the dochter o’ a lord, daughter
And kissin a Collier-lassie an’ a’. —
> O never look down, my lassie at a’,
10 O never look down, my lassie at a’;
Thy lips are as sweet, and thy figure compleat, complete
As the finest dame in castle or ha’. — hall
Tho’ thou hast nae silk and holland sae sma, no, so small
Tho’ thou hast nae silk and holland sae sma,
15 Thy coat and thy sark are thy ain handywark shirt, own work
And Lady Jean was never sae braw. so fine
This is an improved version of a traditional song about a Laird who had an affair with a common girl, printed in Herd’s collection (Vol. 2, p. 206). The first two stanzas are almost unaltered while the last two are from Burns.
O, for Ane and Twenty, Tam
Tune: The Moudiewart
First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
They snool me sair, and haud me down, snub, sore, hold
And gar me look like bluntie, Tam; make, fool
But three short years will soon wheel roun’, round
And then comes ane-and-twenty, Tam. one-
Chorus
5 An O, for ane and twenty, Tam! one-
And hey, sweet ane and twenty, Tam!
I’ll learn my kin a rattlin sang, song
An I saw ane and twenty, Tam.
A gleib o’ lan’, a claut o’ gear, piece, handful
10 Was left me by my Auntie, Tam;
At kith or kin I needna spier, need not ask
An I saw ane and twenty, Tam.
An’ O, for ane and twenty, &c.
They’ll hae me wed a wealthy coof, have, fool
Tho’ I mysel hae plenty, Tam; have
15 But hear’st thou, laddie, there’s my loof, hand
I’m thine at ane and twenty, Tam! one
An’ O, for ane and twenty, &c.
Although published anonymously in the S.M.M., Burns acknowledges to George Thomson in October 1794 that this is his song, with the remark ‘“In summer when the hay was mawn”, “An O for ane and twenty Tam” are both mine’ (Letter 644). Again, this is a song of significant female defiance regarding an ‘unsuitable’ marriage partner.
O Kenmure’s on and Awa, Willie
First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
O Kenmure’s on and awa, Willie,
O, Kenmure’s on and awa; away
An’ Kenmure’s Lord’s the bravest Lord
That ever Galloway saw.
5 Success to Kenmure’s band, Willie!
Success to Kenmure’s band,
There’s no a heart that fears a Whig
That rides by Kenmure’s hand.
Here’s Kenmure’s health in wine, Willie,
10 Here’s Kenmure’s health in wine,
There ne’er was a coward o’ Kenmure’s blude, blood
Nor yet o’ Gordon’s Line.
O Kenmure’s lads are men, Willie,
O Kenmure’s lads are men,
15 Their hearts and swords are metal true,
And that their faes shall ken. foes, know
They’ll live, or die wi’ fame, Willie,
They’ll live, or die wi’ fame,
But soon wi’ sounding victorie
20 May Kenmure’s lord come hame. home
Here’s Him that’s far awa, Willie,
Here’s Him that’s far awa,
And here’s the flower that I lo’e best, love
The rose that’s like the snaw! snow/white cockade
Previous editors have assumed this is based on an old Galloway song, but no evidence of such an earlier work exists. It is not impossible that Burns converted a Highland Jacobite song (akin to Up an Warn A’ Willie) so that Galloway becomes the location and Viscount William Gordon of Kenmure Castle, who led the Jacobite troops in the South of Scotland in 1715, becomes the hero. The poet and John Syme spent three days at Kenmure Castle (sadly now in ruins), near New Galloway village at the end of July, into August, 1793, on the poet’s first tour of Galloway. The snow white rose is the Jacobite emblem (the white cockade) which even the Marxist McDiarmid writes of with considerable pathos. The song is original and carries overtones of Here’s A Health Tae Them That’s Awa’, a later song where Jacobite dissidents meet and merge with the radicalism of the 1790s.
Bessy and her Spinning Wheel
Tune: The Sweet Lass that Loves Me
First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
O leeze me on my spinnin-wheel, delight me with
And leeze me on my rock and reel; distaff
Frae tap to tae that cleeds me bien, from, head, toe, clothes, well
And haps me fiel and warm at e’en! covers, well, evening
5 I’ll set me down, and sing and spin,
While laigh descends the summer sun, low
Blest wi’ content, and milk and meal,
O leeze me on my spinnin-wheel. —
On ilka hand the burnies trot, either, small burns run
10 And meet below my theekit cot; thatched cottage
The scented birk and hawthorn white birch
Across the pool their arms unite,
Alike to screen the birdie’s nest,
And little fishes’ callor rest: cool
15 The sun blinks kindly in the biel’ glimmers, shelter
Where blythe I turn my spinnin-wheel. —
On lofty aiks the cushats wail, oaks, wood pigeons
And Echo cons the doolfu’ tale; woeful
The lintwhites in the hazel braes, linnets, rows of
20 Delighted, rival ither’s lays:
The craik amang the claver hay, corncrake, clover
The paitrick whirrin o’er the ley, partridge, grass land
The swallow jinkin round my shiel, darting, sheiling
Amuse me at my spinnin-wheel. —
25 Wi’ sma to sell, and less to buy, little
Aboon distress, below envy, above
O wha wad leave this humble state, who would
For a’ the pride of a’ the Great?
Amid their flairing, idle toys,
30 Amid their cumbrous, dinsome joys,
Can they the peace and pleasure feel
Of Bessy at her spinnin-wheel!
This song derives its title, if not its form and content from Ramsay’s The Loving Lass and Spinning Wheel. The song is a eulogy to Elizabeth Burgess of Watcarrick in Eskdalemuir.
The song is a celebration of what were to become Wordsworthian pastoral, sessile virtues of economic and environmental contentment, but with a personal, intimate, charming sense of specific character of which the English poet was arguably not capable.
My Collier Laddie
First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
Whare live ye, my bonie lass, where
And tell me how they ca’ ye? what, call
My name, she says, is Mistress Jean,
And I follow the Collier laddie.
My name, she says, is Mistress Jean,
And I follow the Collier laddie.
5 See you not yon hills and dales
The sun shines on sae brawlie? so finely
They a’ are mine and they shall be thine,
Gin ye’ll leave your Collier laddie. if
They a’ are mine &c.
Ye shall gang in gay attire, go/dress
10 Weel buskit up sae gaudy; well dressed so splendidly
And ane to wait on every hand, one/servants
Gin ye’ll leave your Collier laddie. if
And ane to wait &c.
Tho’ ye had a’ the sun shines on,
And the earth conceals sae lowly; so
15 I wad turn my back on you and it a’, would
And embrace my Collier laddie.
I wad turn my &c.
I can win my five pennies in a day
An’ spen ‘t at night fu’ brawlie; full/well
And make my bed in the Collier’s neuk, corner
And make my bed &c.
Loove for loove is the bargain for me, love
Tho’ the wee Cot-house should haud me; hold
And the warld before me to win my bread, world
And fair fa’ my collier laddie! blessings on
And the warld before &c.
A responsive female song of celebratory love for her collier husband, combined with economic hope. There was an embryonic Ayrshire coalfield by the 1790s, the Fife field was much older, but it remains uncertain to what degree this was a traditional song.
Nithsdale’s Welcome Hame
Tune: The Country Lass
First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
The noble Maxwels and their powers
Are coming o’er the border,
And they’ll gae big Terreagles’ towers go build