The Canongate Burns (53 page)
Read The Canongate Burns Online
Authors: Robert Burns
Tune: Moss Platt
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 2, 14th February, 1788.
What will I do gin my Hoggie die,
if, lamb
My joy, my pride, my Hoggie;
lamb
My only beast, I had nae mae,
no more
And vow but I was vogie. â
vain
5
The lee-lang night we watch'd the fauld,
live-long, fold
Me and my faithfu' doggie;
We heard nocht but the roaring linn
nothing, waterfall
Amang the braes sae scroggie. â
hillsides, so, scrub-covered
But the houlet cry'd frae the Castle-wa',
owl, from, wall
10
The blitter frae the boggie,
snipe, from
The tod reply'd upon the hill,
fox
I trembled for my Hoggie.
lamb
When day did daw and cocks did craw,
dawn, crow
The morning it was foggie;
15
An unco tyke lap o'er the dyke
strange dog, stone wall
And maist has kill'd my Hoggie.
almost, lambÂ
Given his life long intimacy with and empathy for domestic and wild animals, this traditional song was particularly attractive to Burns.
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 2, 14th February, 1788.
Her Daddie forbad, her Minnie forbad;
       Forbidden she wadna be:
would not
She wadna trow't, the browst she brew'd
would not believe it
       Wad taste sae bitterlie.
would, so
Â
Chorus
5
The lang lad they ca' jumpin John
long, call
       Beguil'd the bonie lassie,
The lang lad they ca' jumpin John
       Beguil'd the bonie lassie.
A cow and a cauf, a yowe and a hauf,
calf, sheep & lamb
10
       And thretty guid shillins and three;
thirty good
A vera gude tocher, a cotter-man's dochter,
very good dowry, daughter
       The lass with the bonie black e'e.
eye
              The lang lad &c.Â
Kinsley remarks âStenhouse says that this is “a fragment of the old humorous ballad, with some verbal corrections”; but the “ballad” has not been identified' (Vol. III, no. 199, p. 1263). Stenhouse clearly did not know the old song adapted by Burns which is
certainly
My Daddie Forbade
in Herd's Collection, beginning âThough my Daddie forbade, and my Minnie forbade, /Forbidden I will not be'. It is likely there never was an âold humorous ballad'.
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 2, 14th February, 1788.
Cauld blaws the wind frae east to west,
cold, blows, from
        The drift is driving sairly;
sorely
Sae loud and shill's I hear the blast,
so, shrill
        I'm sure it's winter fairly.
Chorus
5
Up in the morning's no for me,
        Up in the morning early;
When a' the hills are covered wi' snaw,
snow
        I'm sure it's winter fairly.
The birds sit chittering in the thorn,
10
        A' day they fare but sparely;
And lang's the night frae e'en to morn,
long is, from
        I'm sure it's winter fairly.
               Up in the morning's &c.
The chorus of this is traditional, but the verses are by Burns.
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 2, 14th February, 1788.Â
Hey the dusty Miller,
       And his dusty coat;
He will spend a shilling
       Or he win a groat:
5
Dusty was the coat,
       Dusty was the colour;
Dusty was the kiss
       That I gat frae the Miller. â
got from
Â
Hey the dusty Miller,
10
       And his dusty sack;
Leeze me on the calling
       Fills the dusty peck:
Fills the dusty peck,
       Brings the dusty siller;
money/coins
15
I wad gie my coatie
would give
       For the dusty Miller.Â
A traditional song adapted slightly by Burns. See Kinsley's notes (Vol. III, no. 201, p. 1264), where he quotes the earlier lines: âO the dusty miller, O the dusty miller, / Dusty was his coat, dusty was his colour, / Dusty was the kiss I got frae the miller'.
Tune: Morag.
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 2, 14th February, 1788.
Loud blaw the frosty breezes,
blow
       The snaws the mountains cover;
snows
Like winter on me seizes,
       Since my young Highland rover
5
       Far wanders nations over.Â
Chorus
Where'er he go, where'er he stray,
       May Heaven be his warden;
Return him safe to fair Strathspey
       And bonie Castle-Gordon. âÂ
10
The trees, now naked groaning,
       Shall soon wi' leaves be hinging,
The birdies dowie moaning
dolefully
       Shall a' be blythely singing,
And every flower be springing.Â
Second Chorus
15
Sae I'll rejoice the lee-lang day,
live long
       When by his mighty Warden
My Youth's return'd to fair Strathspey
       And bonie Castle-Gordon.Â
This was written as a result of the poet's tour of the Highlands and his visit to Castle Gordon in September 1787 to see the Duchess of Gordon. Burns, keenly aware of Jacobite history, knew that Prince Charles Edward Stuart visited Castle Gordon sometime before the battle of Culloden.
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 2, 14th February, 1788.
The winter it is past, and the summer's comes at last,
       And the small birds sing on ev'ry tree;
The hearts of these are glad, but mine is very sad,
       For my Lover has parted from me.Â
5
The rose upon the brier, by the waters running clear,
       May have charms for the linnet or the bee;
Their little loves are blest and their little hearts at rest,
       But my Lover is parted from me.Â
My love is like the sun, in the firmament does run,
10
       For ever is constant and true;
But his is like the moon that wanders up and down,
       And every month it is new.Â
All you that are in love and cannot it remove,
       I pity the pains you endure:
15
For experience makes me know that your hearts are full of woe,
       A woe that no mortal can cure.Â
This is adapted from a lyric
The Love Sick Maid
published in 1765. The original words tell the story of an Irish woman whose lover, a highway robber, was hanged at the Curragh of Kildare, leaving her to mourn. Mackay has dropped the final two stanzas, which appear in S.M.M and most major editions, including Henley and Henderson and Kinsley.
Tune: I Dream'd I Lay
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 2, 14th February, 1788.
I dream'd I lay where flowers were springing
       Gaily in the sunny beam,
List'ning to the wild birds singing,
       By a falling, chrystal stream;
5
Streight the sky grew black and daring,
       Thro' the woods the whirlwinds rave;
Trees with aged arms were warring,
       O'er the swelling, drumlie wave.
turbid
Such was my life's deceitful morning,
10
       Such the pleasures I enjoy'd;
But lang or noon, loud tempests stormingâ
ere
       A' my flowery bliss destroy'd.
Tho' fickle Fortune has deceiv'd me,
       She promis'd fair, and perform'd but ill;
15
Of mony a joy and hope bereav'd me,
many
       I bear a heart shall support me still.
Burns wrote âThese two stanzas I composed when I was seventeen'. Composition is therefore sometime in 1776. This provides another example of the degree to which he was early, presciently haunted by an ill-fated life.
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 2, 14th February, 1788.
There was a lass, they ca'd her Meg,
called
      And she held o'er the moors to spin;
There was a lad that follow'd her,
      They ca'd him Duncan Davison.
called
5
The moor was dreigh, and Meg was skeigh,
dull, fiery
      Her favour Duncan could na win;
not
For wi' the rock she wad him knock,
would
      And ay she shook the temper-pin.
speed regulator pin
Â
As o'er the moor they lightly foor,
went
10
      A burn was clear, a glen was green,
Upon the banks they eas'd their shanks,
rested limbs/legs
      And ay she set the wheel between:
But Duncan swoor a haly aith
swore, holy oath
That Meg should be a bride the morn;
15
      Then Meg took up her spinnin-graith,
equipment
And flang them a' out o'er the burn.
threw
We will big a wee, wee house,
build
      And we will live like king and queen;
Sae blythe and merry's we will be,
so
20
      When ye set by the wheel at e'en.
evening
A man may drink and no be drunk,
      A man may fight and no be slain:
A man may kiss a bonie lass,
      And ay be welcome back again.
Burns signed this with a âZ' when published by Johnson to indicate that he had either made âcorrections, or additions' to a traditional work. The final lines have a natural flow indicative of Burns, as found in his version of
Logan Braes.
Tune: The Ruffian's Rant, or Roy's Wife
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 2, 14th February, 1788.
In comin by the brig o' Dye,
bridge
      At Darlet we a blink did tarry;
short while, stopped
As day was dawin in the sky
dawning
      We drank a health to bonie Mary. âÂ
Chorus
5
Theniel Menzies' bonie Mary,
      Theniel Menzies' bonie Mary,
Charlie Grigor tint his plaidie
lost his plaid
      Kissin Theniel's bonie Mary. â
Her een sae bright, her brow sae white,
eyes so, so
10
      Her haffet locks as brown's a berry,
temple
And ay they dimpl't wi' a smile,
      The rosy cheeks o' bonie Mary. â
            Theniel Menzies' &c.
We lap an' danc'd the lee-lang day,
jumped, live long
      Till Piper lads were wae and weary;
worn out
15
But Charlie gat the spring to pay
got
      For kissin Theniel's bonie Mary. â
            Theniel Menzies' &c.Â
The river Dye is near Stonehaven. The poet visited the area (where some of his relatives lived) with William Nicol on 10th September, 1787 during his tour of the Highlands. The music for the lyric is a strathspey known under the two titles listed above. Kinsley is probably right that the words are adapted from an original bawdy song.
or A' the Lads o' Thorniebank
Tune: The Ruffian's Rant
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 2, 14th February, 1788.
A' the lads o' Thornie-bank
     When they gae to the shore o' Bucky,
go
They'll step in an' tak a pint
take
     Wi' Lady Onlie, honest lucky. âÂ
Chorus
5
Lady Onlie, honest lucky,
     Brews gude ale at shore o' Bucky;
good
I wish her sale for her guid ale,
good
     The best on a' the shore o' Bucky. âÂ
Her house sae bien, her curch sae clean,
so snug, kerchief
10
     I wat she is a dainty Chuckie!
know, old darling
And cheery blinks the ingle-gleede
hearth-ember
     O' Lady Onlie, honest lucky. âÂ
This is a traditional drinking song collected and brushed up by Burns during his Highland tour in September 1787. âBucky' refers to the small fishing town of Buckie. Lady Onlie is the old landlady.