The Canongate Burns (44 page)
Read The Canongate Burns Online
Authors: Robert Burns
The defeat in America was of such catastrophic proportions that it threw the British political system into extreme factionalism, especially given George III's hatred of the Whigs in general and Fox in particular. Added to this there was the problem of making peace with France, combined with the matter of India and the East India Company and the chronic Irish problem. This produced spasmodically rapid changes of administration based on the unlikeliest of alliances, in particular that between North and Fox. What is poetically astonishing about this, is that Burns, from a provincial viewpoint at the beginning of his poetic career, can compress the roller-coaster clamour of St Stephen's (then the site of Parliament) into a mere five stanzas. Undoubtedly he was aided by not only the newspapers but the cartoons. As for example, L.G. Mitchell (in
Charles James Fox
, London, 1992) notes:
True, some cartoons appeared showing Fox as Cromwell or Carlo Khan, riding down Leadenhall St on the back of an Indian elephant but others portrayed him as the new Demosthenes or as the âChampion of the People'. Against anti-Coalition songs must be set images showing Pitt, riding the white horse of Despotic Hanover, battling with Fox, sitting aside the British Lion ⦠Hitherto, these two young men had jointly been the hope of the reformers. Now, they were opponents and shackled by alliances to non-reformers. Which of them would prove to be the long-term friend of reformers had to be debated at public meetings all over England, and the divisions set up at these assemblies fatally harmed the reform movement as a whole. Christopher Wyvill opted for Pitt, declaring that Fox wished to change our limited Monarchy into a mere Aristocratic Republic. William Mason thought that all politics would be corruption if âCharles Fox had the Indies at his disposal' (pp. 68â9).
Mitchell's lucid remarks should also alert us to the fact that Burns's political responses to British party politics, often represented as eccentric and quixotic, were based on the national dilemma between the relative potential of Fox and Pitt to deliver reform. Fox, with his swarthy, âtinkler jaw' remained, to a degree, oportunistic and
licentious. Pitt, to many, including Burns, at this time looked the more reforming politician. Certainly Burns was not one of the âinspired Bardies' when he wrote this. He was not to know how catastrophically his and Scotland's support for âWillie' Pitt and, far worse, âslee' Dundas was to rebound on them both. Compared to the political opportunism of the age, Burns is, however, a figure of profound stability. Who could, for example, switch positions more than âPaddy' Burke? As we shall see this exclusive identification of Burke by his Irish forename diminutive is tellingly to reappear in the recently recovered poem
The Dagger
(see Anonymous and Pseudonymous Section).
1
Frederick, Lord North (1732â92).
2
The Boston tea party of 1773.
3
Richard Montgomery.
4
Guy Carleton.
5
General Gage (1721â88), Governor of Massachusetts.
6
Sir William Howe (d. 1814).
7
This alludes to the seizure of rebel cattle by the Hudson, at Peekskill, 1776.
8
Sir John Burgoyne (1722â92).
9
Brigadier Simon Fraser.
10
Charles Conrnwallis (1738â1805).
11
Sir Henry Clinton (1738â95).
12
John Montague, Earl of Sandwich.
13
Lord George Sackville (1716â85) who was at Culloden with the Duke of Cumberland.
14
Edmund Burke (1727â97); alluding to his Irish origin.
15
Charles James Fox (1749â1806), Whig Leader.
16
The Marquis of Rockingham, Charles Watson Wentworth (1730â82).
17
The Earl of Shelbourne (1737â1805).
18
William Pitt, the Younger (1759â1806).
19
William Wyndham (1759â1834) Lord Grenville.
20
Henry Dundas (1742â1811), Secretary of State for Scotland.
Tune: My Nanie, O
First published, Edinburgh, 1787.
Behind yon hills where Stinchar flows
1
those
      'Mang moors an' mosses many, O,
The wintry sun the day has clos'd,
      And I'll awa to Nanie, O.
5
The westlin wind blaws loud an' shill,
shrill
      The night's baith mirk and rainy, O;
both, dark
But I'll get my plaid an' out I'll steal,
cloth garment
      An' owre the hill to Nanie, O.
over
My Nanie's charming, sweet, an' young;
10
      Nae artfu' wiles to win ye, O:
no
May ill befa' the flattering tongue
befall
      That wad beguile my Nanie, O!
would
Her face is fair, her heart is true,
      As spotless as she's bonie, O;
15
The op'ning gowan, wat wi' dew,
flower, wet
      Nae purer is than Nanie, O.
A country lad is my degree,
      An' few there be that ken me, O;
know
But what care I how few they be,
20
      I'm welcome ay to Nanie, O.
always
My riches a's my penny-fee,
paltry wages
      An' I maun guide it cannie, O;
will, careful
But warl's gear ne'er troubles me,
world's
      My thoughts are a', my Nanie, O.
25
Our auld Guidman delights to view
old, goodman
      His sheep an' kye thrive bonie, O;
cattle
But I'm as blythe that hauds his pleugh,
holds, plough
      An' has nae care but Nanie, O.
Come weel come woe, I care na by,
30
      I'll tak what Heav'n will send me, O:
Nae ither care in life have I,
other
      But live, an' love my Nanie, O.Â
The date of composition is uncertain, although an early draft is written in the
FCB
, April 1784. Mrs Begg claimed the poet's father saw and liked the song. Given that he died in February 1784, that would suggest composition sometime during the early 1780s. The heroine of the song has been invariably named as Agnes Sherriff of Kilmarnock, or Agnes Fleming, daughter of a Tarbolton tenant farmer. Burns saw the song as âpastoral simplicity' with a âdash of our native tongue' (Letter 511). The song was also printed in SC, 1793, then in S.M.M. (1803), no. 580.
1
Burns, at the suggestion of George Thomson, allowed the name of the river to be changed from Stinchar to Lugar.
Green Grow the Rashes, O
First printed in the Edinburgh edition, 1787.
Chorus
Green grow the rashes, O;
      Green grow the rashes, O;
The sweetest hours that e'er I spend,
      Are spent among the lasses, O.
5
There's nought but care on ev'ry han',
nothing, hand
      In ev'ry hour that passes, O:
What signifies the life o' man,
      An' 'twere na for the lasses, O.
if it were not
           Green grow &c.
The war'ly race may riches chase,
worldly
10
      An' riches still may fly them, O;
An' tho' at last they catch them fast,
      Their hearts can ne'er enjoy them, O.
               Green grow &c.
But gie me a cannie hour at e'en,
give, quiet, evening
      My arms about my Dearie, O;
15
An' war'ly cares, an' war'ly men,
worldly
      May a' gae tapsalteerie, O!
topsy-turvy
                  Green grow &c.
For you sae douce, ye sneer at this,
so prudent
      Ye're nought but senseless asses, O:
nothing
The wisest Man the warl' e'er saw,
world
20
      He dearly lov'd the lasses, O.
                       Green grow &c.Â
Auld Nature swears, the lovely dears
      Her noblest work she classes, O:
Her prentice han' she try'd on man,
hand
      An' then she made the lasses, O. Â
This song also featured in S.M.M. in 1787, number 77. It was composed, bar the final verse, in 1784 and is recorded in the
FCB
, dated August, where the song follows a lengthy prose commentary on âthe two Grand Classes' of men, the âGrave and the Merry'. The song is a fine example of the poet's early skill, developed by his tutor Murdoch, in writing out lines of poetry from his own prose. Having written out his observations on the two main classifications of men, the poet introduces the song: âI shall set down the following fragment which, as it is the genuine language of my heart, will enable any body to determine which of the Classes I belong to'. A further verse, developing this theme, but replacing the power of Nature with God, is recorded by Low (p. 106) from the MSS, Lady Stair's House, Edinburgh):
Frae Man's ain side God made his wark
      That a' the lave surpasses O
The Man but lo'es his ain heart's bluid
      Wha dearly lo'es the lasses O.
Tune: Johnny's Grey Breeks
First printed in the Edinburgh edition, 1787.
Again rejoicing Nature sees
      Her robe assume its vernal hues,
Her leafy locks wave in the breeze
      All freshly steep'd in morning dews.
Chorus
1
5
And maun I still on Menie
2
doat,
must, dote
      And bear the scorn that's in her e'e!
eye
For it's jet, jet-black, an' it's like a hawk,
      An' it winna let a body be!
will not
In vain to me the cowslips blaw,
blow
10
      In vain to me the vi'lets spring;
violets
In vain to me in glen or shaw,
wood
      The mavis and the lintwhite sing.
            And maun I still &c.
The merry Ploughboy cheers his team,
      Wi' joy the tentie Seedsman stalks,
careful
15
But life to me 's a weary dream,
      A dream of ane that never wauks.
one, wakes
           And maun I still &c.
The wanton coot the water skims,
      Amang the reeds the ducklings cry,
among
The stately swan majestic swims,
20
      And ev'ry thing is blest but I.
                 And maun I still &c.
The Sheep-herd steeks his faulding slap,
shuts, sheep-fold gate
      And owre the moorlands whistles shill,
shrill
Wi' wild, unequal, wand'ring step
      I meet him on the dewy hill.
            And maun I still &c.
25
And when the lark, âtween light and dark,
      Blythe waukens by the daisy's side,
wakens
And mounts and sings on flittering wings,
      A woe-worn ghaist I hameward glide.
ghost, homeward
            And maun I still &c.
Come Winter, with thine angry howl,
30
      And raging bend the naked tree;
Thy gloom will soothe my cheerless soul,
      When Nature all is sad like me!
            And maun I still &c.Â
The title of this is merely âSong' in Kinsley (no. 138). In the Mackay edition it is given as
And Maun I Still on Menie Doat
, being the first line of the chorus (p. 266). The chorus, though, was written by a friend of the poet's, as admitted by Burns in his notes when published in 1787; the first line written by Burns is given here as the title, âAgain rejoicing Nature sees'. In verse five, Mackay has changed the original âshill' to âshrill', changing the older word for its modern meaning, a word Burns did not employ. He further omits the poet's note indicating he did not write the chorus.
Tune: Roslin Castle
First printed in the Edinburgh edition, 1787.Â
The gloomy night is gath'ring fast,
      Loud roars the wild inconstant blast,
Yon murky cloud is filled with rain,
      I see it driving o'er the plain;
5
The Hunter now has left the moor,
      The scatt'red coveys meet secure,
While here I wander, prest with care,
      Along the lonely banks of
Ayr
.Â
The Autumn mourns her rip'ning corn
10
      By early Winter's ravage torn;
Across her placid, azure sky,
      She sees the scowling tempest fly:
Chill runs my blood to hear it rave,
      I think upon the stormy wave,
15
Where many a danger I must dare,
      Far from the bonie banks of
Ayr
.
bonny
'Tis not the surging billows' roar,
      'Tis not that fatal, deadly shore;
Tho' Death in ev'ry shape appear,
20
      The Wretched have no more to fear:
But round my heart the ties are bound,
      That heart transpierc'd with many a wound;
These bleed afresh, those ties I tear,
      To leave the bonie banks of
Ayr
.
25
Farewell, old
Coila's
hills and dales,
      Her heathy moors and winding vales;
The scenes where wretched Fancy roves,
      Pursuing past unhappy loves!
Farewell my friends! farewell my foes!
30
      My peace with these, my love with those â
The bursting tears my heart declare,
      Farewell, my bonie banks of
Ayr
.Â
This was composed in the late Autumn of 1786 when the problems of the poet's personal life still prompted him to think of emigrating from Scotland. To Dr Moore Burns explained that this was to be his final parting song to his friends and homeland (Letter 125). Personal vexations are evident in the final couplets, referring to a last farewell of âfriends!' and âfoes!' It is clearly the case that in the poet's thoughts of sailing to Jamaica he held concerns that a winter journey by sea could be perilous on âthe stormy wave, /Where many a danger I must dare'.
