The Canongate Burns

by Robert Burns

  And them that comes behin’,

  15 Let them do the like,

  And spend the gear they win. wealth

  Hey ca’ thro’ &c.

  This is based on an old Fifeshire fishing song. It has been assumed that Burns collected this work when passing through Fife at the close of his Highland tour in the late Autumn of 1787. It is not certain that Burns improved the song but, on the assumption he did, it is placed in the canon. Given that many such old works are irregular in metre and uneven in quality, this song does appear to have been tightened up by Burns. The deceptively simple clarity of lyric would appear to be his handiwork.

  Can Ye Labour Lea

  First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.

  I fee’d a man at Martinmass, hired

  Wi’ airle-pennies three; bargain money

  But a’ the faute I had to him, fault

  He could na labour lea. could not, till grass land

  Chorus

  5 O can ye labour lea, young man,

  O can ye labour lea;

  Gae back the gate ye came again, go, way

  Ye’se never scorn me. —

  O clappin’s gude in Febarwar, caressing, February

  10 An’ kissin’s sweet in May;

  But what signifies a young man’s love,

  An’t dinna last for ay. does not, ever

  O can ye &c.

  O kissin is the key o’ luve,

  An’ clappin is the lock, caressing

  15 An’ makin-of ’s the best thing,

  That e’er a young Thing got. —

  O can ye &c.

  This is based on an old song Burns heard his own mother sing. As the original is unknown it is assumed Burns re-wrote the lyric. A bawdy version collected by Burns is in the Merry Muses.

  The Deuk’s Dang o’er My Daddie

  First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.

  The bairns gat out wi’ an unco shout, child’s got, great

  The deuk’s dang o’er my daddie, O, duck, beaten

  The fien-ma-care, quo’ the feirrie auld wife, devil-may-, lusty old

  He was but a paidlin body, O. — wading/messsing about

  5 He paidles out, an’ he paidles in, paddles

  An’ he paidles late and early, O;

  This seven lang years I hae lien by his side, seven, have lain

  An he is but a fusionless carlie, O. — useless old man

  O haud your tongue, my feirrie auld wife, hold, lustful old

  10 O haud your tongue, now Nansie, O:

  I’ve seen the day, and sae hae ye, so have

  Ye wad na been sae donsie, O. — would not, so saucy

  I’ve seen the day ye butter’d my brose, porridge/sexual connotations

  And cuddled me late and early, O;

  15 But downa do’s come o’er me now, cannot perform, can’t do has

  And, Oh, I find it sairly, O!

  Although partly based on an old song this is signed in the S.M.M. indicating that it is substantially the work of Burns. This can be proven given the lines quoted by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe from the old song (see Wallace (1896), p. 382). This tragi-comic marriage dialogue is based on the old man’s impotence.

  She’s Fair and Fause

  Tune: The Lads of Leith.

  First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.

  She’s fair and fause that causes my smart, false

  I lo’ed her meikle and lang; greatly, long

  She’s broken her vow, she’s broken my heart,

  And I may e’en gae hang. — go

  5 A coof cam in wi’ routh o’ gear, fool, plenty, money

  And I hae tint my dearest dear; have lost

  But Woman is but warld’s gear, world’s wealth

  Sae let the bonie lass gang. — so, go

  Whae’er ye be that Woman love, whoever

  10 To this be never blind;

  Nae ferlie ’tis tho’ fickle she prove, no wonder

  A Woman has’t by kind:

  O Woman lovely, Woman fair!

  An angel form ’s faun to thy share; fallen

  15 ’Twad been o’er meikle to gien thee mair, much, have given, more

  I mean an angel mind. —

  Editors prior to Kinsley have guessed this song was written about Alexander Cunningham’s mistress Anna, who jilted him (See Anna, Thy Charms). There is no evidence to prove the claim. The song appears to be a traditional one improved by Burns. The tone of stanzas 1 and 2 is quite different: the first has a clumsy rhyme repitition on ‘gear’, indicative of an amateur poet. The second stanza flows naturally and is almost certainly, in sentiment, language and diction, from Burns. Since the original song cannot be traced this conclusion is conjectural. It is surprising that Burns did not also improve the first stanza.

  The Deil’s Awa wi’ th’ Exciseman

  Tune: The Hemp-Dresser

  First printed in Johnson’s S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.

  The Deil cam fiddlin thro’ the town, devil, came

  And danc’d awa wi’ th’ Exciseman;

  And ilka wife cries, auld Mahoun, every, old

  I wish you luck o’ the prize, man.

  Chorus

  5 The deil’s awa the deil’s awa away

  The deil’s awa wi’ th’ Exciseman,

  He’s danc’d awa he’s danc’d awa

  He’s danc’d awa wi’ th’ Exciseman.

  We’ll mak our maut and we’ll brew our drink, malt/whisky

  10 We’ll laugh, sing, and rejoice, man;

  And mony braw thanks to the meikle black deil, fine, great, devil

  That danc’d awa wi’ th’ Exciseman.

  The deil’s awa &c.

  There’s threesome reels, there’s foursome reels,

  There’s hornpipes and strathspeys, man,

  15 But the ae best dance ere cam to the Land one, came

  Was, the deil’s awa wi’ th’ Exciseman.

  The deil’s awa &c.

  Despite being unsigned in the S.M.M. the evidence in Letter 500 (to John Leven) indicates this is an original work by Burns. The notion Burns wrote the work extempore while waiting for reinforcements before boarding and taking the smuggling ship Rosamond on the Solway is probably myth. Burns may have thought of the song at that time but there is no definite proof of this folk tale.

  Wandering Willie

  Tune: Here Awa, There Awa

  First printed in Thomson’s Select Collection, May 1793.

  Here awa’, there awa’ wandering Willie, away

  Here awa’, there awa’, haud awa’ hame; hold, home

  Come to my bosom, my ae only deary, one, dearie

  And tell me thou bring’st me my Willie the same.

  5 Loud tho’ the Winter blew cauld on our parting, cold

  ‘Twas na the blast brought the tear in my e’e: not, eye

  Welcome now Simmer, and welcome my Willie; summer

  The Simmer to Nature, my Willie to me. summer

  Rest, ye wild storms, in the cave o’ your slumbers,

  10 How your dread howling a lover alarms!

  Wauken, ye breezes! row gently, ye billows! waken

  And waft my dear Laddie ance mair to my arms. once more

  But oh, if he’s faithless, and minds na his Nannie, not

  Flow still between us, thou wide roaring main:

  15 May I never see it, may I never trow it, pledge

  But, dying, believe that my Willie’s my ain! own

  This is based on an old song called Thro’ the Lang Muir, which contains one stanza and a chorus, repeated with a variation (See Scott Douglas, Vol. 1, p. 377). The original is a competent Scots song – an additional stanza was added to the version printed in the S.M.M. in 1787 – but the song is significantly improved by Burns. It was written in early 1792, but redrafted for Thomson in March 1793 (Letter 543).

  Braw Lads o’ Galla Water

  First printed i
n Thomson’s Select Collection, May 1793.

  Braw, braw lads on Yarrow braes, fine, hill sides

  Rove amang the blooming heather; among

  But Yarrow braes, nor Ettrick shaws, woods

  Can match the lads o’ Galla water.

  5 But there is ane, a secret ane, one, one

  Aboon them a’ I loe him better; above, love

  And I’ll be his, and he’ll be mine,

  The bonie lad o’ Galla water.

  Altho’ his daddie was nae laird, no

  10 And tho’ I hae na meikle tocher, have no big dowry

  Yet, rich in kindest, truest love,

  We’ll tent our flocks by Galla water. tend

  It ne’er was wealth, it ne’er was wealth,

  That coft contentment, peace, or pleasure; bought

  15 The bands and bliss o’ mutual love,

  O that’s the chiefest warld’s treasure! world’s

  The original of this song is found in Herd’s collection, although a version appears in S.M.M. in 1788, with slight variations in text, which might have been minor improvements by Burns. However, the above is merely modified on the old song and is significantly changed to make a superior song.

  Auld Rob Morris

  First printed in Thomson’s Select Collection, May 1793.

  There’s Auld Rob Morris that wons in yon glen, dwells

  He’s the king o’ gude fellows and wale of auld men; good, pick

  He has gowd in his coffers, he has owsen and kine, gold, oxen, cattle

  And ae bonie lassie, his dawtie and mine. one, darling

  5 She’s fresh as the morning, the fairest in May,

  She’s sweet as the e’enin amang the new hay; among

  As blythe and as artless as the lambs on the lea, pasture

  And dear to my heart as the light to my e’e. eye

  But oh, she’s an Heiress, auld Robin’s a laird; old

  10 And my daddie has nocht but a cot-house and yard: nothing, cottage

  A wooer like me maunna hope to come speed; must not, succeed

  The wounds I must hide that will soon be my dead. death

  The day comes to me, but delight brings me nane; none

  The night comes to me, but my rest it is gane: gone

  15 I wander my lane like a night-troubled ghaist, alone, ghost

  And I sigh as my heart it wad burst in my breast. would

  O had she but been of a lower degree,

  I then might hae hop’d she wad smil’d upon me! would have

  O, how past descriving had then been my bliss, describing

  20 As now my distraction no words can express!

  This is based on a traditional dialogue song between a mother and daughter printed in the Tea-Table Miscellany, but only a couplet or so of the original are kept by Burns. He struggled with the pedantic Thomson to maintain an air of rustic simplicity in the song. He told Thomson, ‘There is a naivete, a pastoral simplicity, in a slight intermixture of Scots words and phraseology, which is more in unison … than any English verses whatever. – For instance, in my Auld Rob Morris, you propose instead of the word ‘descriving’, to substitute the phrase ‘all telling’, which would spoil the rusticity, the pastoral, of the stanza’ (Letter 535). The theme once again is the juxtaposition of love and wealth in a feudal social order. The rhyme at lines 15–16 of ‘ghaist’ and ‘breast’ relies on the west of Scotland Scots pronunciation of breast as braist. A version of this song appears in the Scots Magazine, July 1797, p. 479.

  Open the Door to Me, Oh

  Tune: Open the Door Softly

  First printed in Thomson’s Select Collection, May 1793.

  Oh, open the door, some pity to shew,

  If love it may na be, Oh; not

  Tho’ thou hast been false, I’ll ever prove true,

  Oh, open the door to me, Oh.

  5 Cauld is the blast upon my pale cheek, cold

  But caulder thy love for me, Oh: colder

  The frost, that freezes the life at my heart,

  Is nought to my pains frae thee, Oh. from

  The wan moon sets behind the white wave,

  10 And Time is setting with me, Oh:

  False friends, false love, farewell! for mair

  I’ll ne’er trouble them, nor thee, Oh.

  She has open’d the door, she has open’d it wide,

  She sees his pale corse on the plain, Oh: corpse

  15 My true love! she cried, and sank down by his side,

  Never to rise again, Oh.

  The old song Burns has used here is Scottish, set to an Irish air. Thomson printed it with the headnote ‘Altered by Robt. Burns’ and placed rewritten lyrics for the same song by Dr John Wolcot (Peter Pindar) suggesting that Thomson thought Pindar’s more English version as good as Burns’s, which it is not. It was sent to Thomson in April 1793.

  The Sodger’s Return

  Tune: The Mill, Mill O

  First printed in Thomson’s Select Collection, May 1793.

  When wild War’s deadly blast was blawn, blowing

  And gentle Peace returning,

  Wi’ mony a sweet babe fatherless, many

  And mony a widow mourning: many

  5 I left the lines, and tented field,

  Where lang I’d been a lodger, long

  My humble knapsack a’ my wealth,

  A poor and honest sodger. soldier

  A leal, light heart was in my breast, loyal

  10 My hand unstain’d wi’ plunder;

  And for fair Scotia, hame again home

  I cheery on did wander.

  I thought upon the banks o’ Coil,

  I thought upon my Nancy,

  15 And ay I mind’t the witching smile always, remembered

  That caught my youthful fancy.

  At length I reach’d the bonny glen,

  Where early life I sported;

  I pass’d the mill and trysting thorn, meeting place

  20 Where Nancy aft I courted: often

  Wha spied I but my ain dear maid, who, own

  Down by her mother’s dwelling!

  And turn’d me round to hide the flood

  That in my een was swelling. eyes

  25 Wi’ alter’d voice, quoth I, sweet lass,

  Sweet as yon hawthorn’s blossom,

  O! happy, happy may he be,

  That’s dearest to thy bosom:

  My purse is light, I’ve far to gang, go

  30 And fain wad be thy lodger; would

  I’ve serv’d my king and country lang, long

  Take pity on a sodger! soldier

  Sae wistfully she gaz’d on me, so

  And lovelier was than ever;

  35 Quo’ she, a sodger ance I lo’ed, loved

  Forget him shall I never:

  Our humble cot, and hamely fare, homely food

  Ye freely shall partake it,

  That gallant badge, the dear cockade, Jacobite white rose

  40 Ye’re welcome for the sake o’t.

  She gaz’d — she redden’d like a rose —

  Syne pale like ony lily, then, any

  She sank within my arms, and cried,

  Art thou my ain dear Willie? — own

  45 By Him who made yon sun and sky,

  By whom true love’s regarded,

  I am the man — and thus may still

  True lovers be rewarded!

  The wars are o’er, and I’m come hame, home

  50 And find thee still true-hearted;

  Tho’ poor in gear, we’re rich in love,

  And mair, — we’se ne’er be parted! more

  Quo’ she, my grandsire left me gowd, gold

  A mailen plenish’d fairly; piece of arable land

  55 And come, my faithfu’ sodger lad, soldier

  Thou ’rt welcome to it dearly!

  For gold the merchant ploughs the main, sea

  The farmer ploughs the manor;

  But glory is the sodger’s prize, soldier
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  60 The sodger’s wealth is honour;

  The brave poor sodger ne’er despise,

  Nor count him as a stranger;

  Remember, he’s his country’s stay

  In day and hour of danger.

  This was the final song Burns sent to Thomson for inclusion in his Volume going to press in April for May 1793. Thomson’s arrogance as an editor of song lyrics compelled him to change the lines ‘Wi’ monie a sweet babe fatherless /And monie a widow mourning’ to the dull ‘And eyes again with pleasure beam’d, /That had been blear’d wi’ mourning’. According to Thomson, Burns’s original lines did not suit the music. Characteristically this alleged aesthetic improvement was, in reality, an act of political censorship. Thomson is smoothing over the patently obvious anti-war connotations of the song, resonant at that time since Britain was currently at war with France (see notes to Logan Braes for a similar censorial act). It is probably due to the editorial changes made by Thomson that Burns printed his song in The Glasgow Courier in September 1793, in order to see a corrected version in print. The theme of the poet’s song is found in one of Ramsay’s works, Beneath a Green Shade I Fand a Fair Maid, in the Orpheus Caledonius, 1733, where the soldier returns from Flanders to find his true love. Given that the word ‘sodger’ is used through the song – soldier would not rhyme with ‘lodger’ – it seems incongruous to title the song The Soldier’s Return. The title given here is therefore the Scots The Sodger’s Return.