The Canongate Burns
Page 105
When I am frae my Dearie; from
I restless lie frae e’en to morn,
Tho’ I were ne’er sae weary. — so
Chorus
5 For Oh, her lanely nights are lang; lonely, long
And Oh, her dreams are eerie; fearful
And Oh, her widow’d heart is sair, sore
That’s absent frae her Dearie. — from
When I think on the lightsome days
10 I spent wi’ thee, my Dearie;
And now what seas between us roar,
How can I be but eerie. — fearful
For Oh &c.
How slow ye move, ye heavy hours;
The joyless day how dreary:
15 It was na sae ye glinted by,
When I was wi’ my Dearie. —
For Oh &c.
This was adapted from an old song and sent to Thomson on 19th October, 1794: ‘I have taken a stride or two across my room and arranged it anew’ (Letter 644). Mackay quotes part of this same letter by Burns, but confuses the issue by printing the earliest version of the song by Burns as the ‘second version’, making the earlier lyric seem like the final lyric. An earlier version appears in Johnson’s S.M.M in 1788. Only the final version as sent to Thomson is given here.
Let Not Women E’er Complain
Tune: Duncan Gray
First printed by Thomson, 1798.
LET NOT Woman e’er complain
Of inconstancy in love;
Let not Woman e’er complain
Fickle Man is apt to rove:
5 Look abroad thro’ Nature’s range,
Nature’s mighty law is CHANGE;
Ladies would it not be strange
Man should then a monster prove. —
Mark the winds, and mark the skies;
10 Ocean’s ebb, and ocean’s flow:
Sun and moon but set to rise;
Round and round the seasons go:
Why then ask of silly Man,
To oppose great Nature’s plan?
15 We’ll be constant while we can —
You can be no more, you know. —
Thomson had for commercial reasons asked Burns to compose English lyrics to match traditional airs. The relatively unhappy verses above corroborate Burns’s response (Letter 644): ‘These English songs gravel me to death. – I have not that command of the language … that I have of my mother tongue. – In fact, I think that my ideas are more barren in English than in Scots.’
The Auld Man’s Winter Thought
or The Winter of Life
Tune: The Death of the Linnet
First printed by Johnson, December 1796.
BUT lately seen in gladsome green
The woods rejoiced the day,
Thro’ gentle showers the laughing flowers
In double pride were gay:
5 But now our joys are fled —
On winter blasts awa! away
Yet maiden May, in rich array
Again shall bring them a’. —
But my white pow — nae kindly thowe head, no, thaw
10 Shall melt the snaws of Age; snows
My trunk of eild, but buss and bield, old age, bush, shelter
Sinks in Time’s wintry rage. —
Oh, Age has weary days!
And nights o’ sleepless pain!
15 Thou golden time o’ Youthfu’ prime,
Why comes thou not again!
This was sent to Thomson among the bundle of songs dated 19th October, 1794. Burns told Thomson that the original melody was an ‘Eastern air, which you would swear was a Scottish one’ (Letter 644). The tune given above is the one used by Thomson who printed the song a few years after Johnson.
The Lover’s Morning Salute to his Mistress
or Sleep’st Thou or Wauk’st Thou
Tune: Deil Tak the Wars
First printed by Thomson, 1798.
SLEEP’ST thou, or wauk’st thou, fairest creature; wakest
Rosy morn now lifts his eye,
Numbering ilka bud which Nature each
Waters wi’ the tears o’ joy.
5 Now, to the streaming fountain
Or up the heathy mountain,
The hart, hind, and roe, freely, wanton stray;
In twining hazel bowers,
His lay the linnet pours;
10 The lavrock to the sky lark
Ascends, wi’ sangs o’ joy: songs
While the sun and thou arise to bless the day.
Phoebus, gilding the brow of morning,
Banishes ilk darksome shade, each
15 Nature gladdening and adorning:
Such, to me, my lovely maid.
When frae my Chloris parted, from
Sad, cheerless, broken-hearted,
Then night’s gloomy shades o’ercast my sky:
20 But when she charms my sight,
In pride of Beauty’s light;
When thro’ my very heart,
Her beaming glories dart;
’Tis then —’ tis then I wake to life and joy!
This was among the packet sent to Thomson on 19th October, 1794. The title adopted here is that suggested by Burns and given in Kinsley. ‘Chloris’ refers to Jean Lorimer.
To the Hon. Mr. Wm. R. Maule of Panmure on his High Phaeton
First printed in Henley and Henderson, 1896.
Thou Fool, in thy Phaeton towering,
Art proud when that Phaeton’s prais’d?
’Tis the pride of a Thief’s exhibition
When higher his pillory’s rais’d.
William Ramsay Maule (1771–1841), Earl of Panmure, was seen by Burns riding away from the Caledonian Hunt races in a high open carriage or phaeton at the race ground at Tinwald Downs. His display of self-importance provoked this epigram which was sent to Mrs Dunlop in November 1794. Burns describes the scene and its ‘roar of Folly and Dissipation … One of the Corps provoked my ire the other day which burst out as follows’ (Letter 645). The reference to a ‘Thief’ is probably Burns’s idea that the Earl’s inherited wealth was ill gotten. The winning horse in the Caledonian Hunt race at Dumfries in late Autumn 1792, named ‘Sans Culotte’ never features again after January 1793 or was given a more loyal name. Panmure in 1817 settled an annuity of £60 on Burns’s widow (The Burns Chronicle, 1964, p. 23).
The Charming Month of May
Tune: Daintie Davie
First printed in Thomson, 1799.
It was the charming month of May,
When all the flowers were fresh and gay,
One morning, by the break of day,
The youthful, charming Chloe;
5 From peaceful slumber she arose,
Girt on her mantle and her hose,
And o’er the flowery mead she goes,
The youthful, charming Chloe.
Chorus
Lovely was she by the dawn,
10 Youthful Chloe, charming Chloe,
Tripping o’er the pearly lawn,
The youthful, charming Chloe.
The feather’d people you might see,
Perch’d all around on every tree,
15 In notes of sweetest melody
They hail the charming Chloe;
Till, painting gay the eastern skies,
The glorious sun began to rise,
Out-rivall’d by the radiant eyes
20 Of youthful, charming Chloe.
Lovely was she &c.
This was sent to Thomson in November 1794. Burns told Thomson he took the idea for the song from an old lyric in The Tea-Table Miscellany (Letter 646).
Lassie wi’ the Lint-White Locks
Tune: Rothiemurchie’s Rant
First printed in Currie, 1800.
Now Nature cleeds the flowery lea, clothes, meadow
And a’ is young and sweet like thee,
O, wilt thou share its joys wi’ me,
And say thou’lt be my Dearie O.
Chorus
5 Lassie wi’ the lint
-white locks,
Bonie lassie, artless lassie,
Wilt thou wi’ me tent the flocks — tend
Wilt thou be my Dearie O.
The primrose bank, the wimpling burn, meandering
10 The cuckoo on the milkwhite thorn,
The wanton lambs at early morn
Shall welcome thee, my Dearie O.
Lassie wi’ &c.
And when the welcome simmer shower summer
Has cheer’d ilk drooping little flower, each
15 We’ll to the breathing woodbine bower
At sultry noon, my Dearie O.
Lassie wi’ &c.
When Cynthia lights wi’ silver ray
The weary shearer’s hameward way, homeward
Thro’ yellow waving fields we’ll stray,
20 And talk o’ love, my Dearie O.
Lassie wi’ &c.
And when the howling wintry blast
Disturbs my lassie’s midnight rest,
I’ll fauld thee to my faithfu’ breast,
And comfort thee, my Dearie O. —
Lassie wi’ &c.
This was among the songs sent to Thomson in November 1794. Most editors assert that the heroine of the song is again Jean Lorimer, ‘Chloris’, despite the reference to Cynthia, l. 17, and the fact that Jean Lorimer did not have ‘lint-white locks’.
To Chloris
Tune: Major Graham
First printed in the Aldine edition, 1839.
AH, Chloris, since it may not be,
That thou of love wilt hear;
If from the lover thou maun flee,
Yet let the friend be dear.
5 Altho’ I love my Chloris, mair
Than ever tongue could tell;
My passion I will ne’er declare —
I’ll say, I wish thee well.
Tho’ a’ my daily care thou art,
10 And a’ my nightly dream,
I’ll hide the struggle in my heart,
And say it is esteem.
This is another work adapted from an old song in The Tea-Table Miscellany and dedicated to Miss Jean Lorimer.
O Philly, Happy be that Day
or Phily and Willy
Tune: The Sow’s Tail to Geordie
First printed in Currie, 1800.
He.
O PHILLY, happy be that day
When, roving thro’ the gather’d hay,
My youthfu’ heart was stown away, stolen
And by thy charms, my Philly. —
She.
5 O Willy, ay I bless the grove
Where first I own’d my maiden love,
Whilst thou did pledge the Powers above
To be my ain dear Willy. — own
He.
As songsters of the early year
10 Are ilka day mair sweet to hear, every, more
So ilka day to me mair dear
And charming is my Philly. —
She.
As on the brier the budding rose
Still richer breathes, and fairer blows,
15 So in my tender bosom grows
The love I bear my Willy. —
He.
The milder sun and bluer sky
That crown my harvest cares wi’ joy,
Were ne’er sae welcome to my eye so
20 As is a sight o’ Philly. —
She.
The little swallow’s wanton wing,
Tho’ wafting o’er the flowery Spring,
Did ne’er to me sic tydings bring, such
As meeting o’ my Willy. —
He.
25 The bee, that thro’ the sunny hour
Sips nectar in the op’ning flower,
Compar’d wi’ my delight is poor
Upon the lips o’ Philly. —
She.
The woodbine in the dewy weet
30 When ev’ning shades in silence meet,
Is nocht sae fragrant or sae sweet not so
As is a kiss o’ Willy. —
He.
Let Fortune’s wheel at random rin; run
And fools may tyne, and knaves may win; lose/be lost
35 My thoughts are a’ bound up on ane,
And that’s my ain dear Philly. — own
She.
What’s a’ the joys that gowd can gie? all, gold
I care na wealth a single flie; not (for), fly
The lad I love ’s the lad for me,
40 And that’s my ain dear Willy. — own
Burns started this song in September 1794 but did not finish it until November when he sent a copy to Thomson. The poet considered employing the names of George Thomson and his wife Katherine but accepted that their names were not poetical enough for the lyric. Mackay titles the song Philly and Willy but lays the song out in a manner where it is unclear that the song alternates between the male and female voice (p. 529).
Canst Thou Leave Me Thus My Katy
Tune: Roy’s Wife
First printed in Thomson, 1799.
Is this thy plighted, fond regard,
Thus cruelly to part, my Katy:
Is this thy faithful swain’s reward —
An aching broken heart, my Katy. —
Chorus
5 Canst thou leave me thus, my Katy,
Canst thou leave me thus, my Katy;
Well thou know’st my aching heart,
And canst thou leave me thus for pity. —
Farewell! and ne’er such sorrows tear
10 That fickle heart of thine, my Katy!
Thou mayest find those will love thee dear —
But not a love like mine, my Katy. —
Canst thou leave me &c.
This was written in November 1794 by Burns as some ‘English stanzas’ to the tune Rory’s Wife (Letter 647).
How Green the Groves
Tune: My Lodging is on the cold ground
First printed in Thomson, 1805.
BEHOLD, my Love, how green the groves,
The primrose banks how fair;
The balmy gales awake the flowers,
And wave thy flaxen hair:
5 The lav’rock shuns the palace gay, lark
And o’er the cottage sings;
For Nature smiles as sweet, I ween, trust
To shepherds as to kings. —
Let minstrels sweep the skilfu’ string,
10 In lordly, lighted ha’; hall
The shepherd stops his simple reed,
Blythe, in the birken shaw: birch wood
The princely revel may survey
Our rustic dance wi’ scorn,
15 But are their hearts as light as ours
Beneath the milkwhite thorn. —
The shepherd, in the flowery glen,
In shepherd’s phrase will woo;
The courtier tells a finer tale,
20 But is his heart as true:
Here wild-wood flowers I’ve pu’d, to deck pulled
That spotless breast o’ thine;
The courtier’s gems may witness love —
But ‘tis na love like mine. — not
This was sent to Thomson in November 1794. That it was written about Chloris (Jean Lorimer) does not disguise the political theme of the song, that rural romance and love among the peasantry is more natural and untainted than the ‘courtly’ facade of love among the aristocracy. It is a love song underpinned with the sentiments expressed in A Man’s a Man.
Contented wi’ Little
Tune: Lumps o’ Puddins
First printed in Thomson, 1799.
CONTENTED wi’ little, and cantie wi’ mair, happy, more
Whene’er I forgather wi’ Sorrow and Care,
I gie them a skelp, as they’re creeping alang, give, slap, along
Wi’ a cog o’ gude swats and an auld cup, good ale, old,
Scottish sang. song
5 I whyles claw the elbow o’ troubles ome Thought; sometimes clasp
But Man is a soger, and Li
fe is a faught: soldier, fight
My mirth and gude humour are coin in my pouch,
And my FREEDOM ’s my Lairdship nae monarch
daur touch. no, dare
A towmond o’ trouble, should that be my fa’, a year, fall/lot
10 A night o’ gude fellowship sowthers it a’; good, patches it up
When at the blythe end o’ our journey at last,
Wha the Deil ever thinks o’ the road he has past. who, 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 jade gae: from, hag go
15 Come Ease, or come Travail; come Pleasure or Pain;
My warst word is — ‘Welcome, and welcome again!’ worst
This is, by Burns’s own assessment, one of his quintessential autobiographical lyrics. It was composed around 18th November, 1794 and sent to Thomson. Burns said of the lyric that it should be set next to a portrait done of him by Alexander Reid in order that ‘the portrait of my face and the picture of my mind may go down the Stream of Time together’ (Letter 670). The affirmation ‘my FREEDOM’S my Lairdship nae monarch daur touch’ is a characteristically defiant statement from Burns, who boldly asserts that no monarch will touch him and describes himself as a fighter, clawing the elbow of troublesome thought. It would be no surprise if this was not a political allusion to writing seditious poetry