Read The Canongate Burns Online
Authors: Robert Burns
The Canongate Burns (60 page)
Tune: Jenny's Lamentation
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
TWA bony lads were Sandy and Jockie;
two
Jockie was lo'ed but Sandy unlucky;
loved
Jockie was laird baith of hills and of vallies,
both
But Sandy was nought but the King o' gude fellows.
good
Jockie lo'ed Madgie, for Madgie had money,
loved
And Sandy lo'ed Mary, for Mary was bony:
Ane wedded for Love, ane wedded for treasure,
one
So Jockie has siller, and Sandy had pleasure.
money
The first two lines are traditional, the remainder is from Burns. It expresses the poet's belief that natural, spontaneous love more than compensated for wealth.
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
Young Jockey was the blythest lad
       In a' our town or here awa;
away/round about
Fu' blythe he whistled at the gaud,
while goading
       Fu' lightly danc'd he in the ha'.
5
He roos'd my een sae bonie blue,
praised, eyes, so
       He roos'd my waist sae genty sma;
praised, so, small
An ay my heart cam to my mou,
mouth
       When ne'er a body heard or saw.Â
My Jockey toils upon the plain
10
       Thro' wind and weet, thro' frost and snaw;
wet, snow
And o'er the lee I leuk fu' fain
look fondly
       When Jockie's owsen hameward ca'.
oxen howeward drive
An ay the night comes round again,
       When in his arms he taks me a';
takes, fully
15
An ay he vows he'll be my ain
own
       As lang's he has a breath to draw.
long as
Â
This is signed by Burns with a âZ' in the S.M.M to indicate it is a traditional song he improved. Jockey (l. 3) was the leader of the plough-horses and carried a stick as a goad.
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
Whare are you gaun, my bony lass,
where, going
        Whare are you gaun, my hiney.
where, going, darling
She answer'd me right saucilie,
        An errand for my minnie.
mother
5
O whare live ye, my bony lass,
where
        O whare live ye, my hiney.
darling
By yon burnside, gin ye maun ken,
if, shall know
        In a wee house wi' my minnie.
mother
But I foor up the glen at e'en,
went, evening
10
        To see my bony lassie;
And lang before the grey morn cam,
long, came
        She was na hauf sae saucey.
not half so
O weary fa' the waukrife cock,
woe befall, wakeful
        And the foumart lay his crawin!
polecat
15
He wauken'd the auld wife frae her sleep,
wakened, old, from
        A wee blink or the dawin.
just before, dawn
An angry wife I wat she raise,
know
        And o'er the bed she brought her;
And wi' a meikle hazel rung
big, stick
20
        She made her a weel-pay'd dochter.
well-, daughter
Â
O fare thee weel, my bonie lass!
-well
        O fare thee weel, my hinnie!
-well, darling
Thou art a gay and a bony lass,
        But thou has a waukrife minnie.
wakeful mother
Â
Burns notes in the Interleaved S.M.M. that this song was sung to him by a girl in Nithsdale. It is generally included among his songs on the assumption that he, at least, improved the old song. Kinsley gives two possible sources (Vol. III, no. 311, p. 1339).
Tune: For A' that an' a' that.
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
Tho' women's minds, like winter winds,
       May shift, and turn an' a' that,
The noblest breast adores them maist,
most
      A consequence I draw that.
Chorus
5
For a' that, an' a' that,
       And twice as meikle's a' that,
much as
My dearest bluid to do them guid,
blood, good
       They're welcome till't for a' that.
Great love I bear to all the Fair,
10
       Their humble slave an' a' that;
But lordly WILL, I hold it still
       A mortal sin to thraw that.
question
              For a' that, an' a' that, &c.
In rapture sweet this hour we meet,
       Wi' mutual love an' a' that,
15
But for how lang the flie may stang,
long, fly, sting
       Let inclination law that.
             For a' that, an' a' that, &c.
Their tricks and craft hae put me daft,
have, stupid
       They've taen me in an' a' that,
taken
But clear your decks, and here's the SEX!
20
       I like the jads for a' that!
hussies
              For a' that, an' a' that, &c.
This is signed as the work of Burns in the S.M.M. It is an adapted extract from his cantata,
The Jolly Beggars,
namely
The Bard's Song.
Tune: Killiecranckie
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
Whare hae ye been sae braw, lad!
where have, so fine
         Whare hae ye been sae brankie O?
strutting smartly
Whare hae ye been sae braw, lad?
         Cam ye by Killiecrankie O?
come
Chorus
5
An ye had been whare I hae been,
where, have
         Ye wad na been sae cantie O;
would not, so cheerful
An ye had seen what I hae seen,
have
         On the braes o' Killiecrankie O.
hill slopes
I faught at land, I faught at sea,
10
         At hame I faught my Auntie, O;
home
But I met the Devil and Dundee
         On th' braes o' Killiecrankie, O.
hill slopes
                An ye had been, &c.
âThe bauld Pitcur fell in a furr,
bold, dep ditch
         An' Clavers gat a clankie, O;
blow
15
Or I had fed an Athole Gled
hawk
         On th' braes o' Killiecrankie, O.
hill slopes
                An ye had been, &c.
Although Burns visited the scene of this battle in the Autumn of 1787, during his Highland tour, it is uncertain how much of this song is his. He left no commentary and the remarks in the Interleaved S.M.M. are by Robert Riddell, who noted that the battle occurred on 27th July 1689 between the Jacobite forces of Graham of Claverhouse (Bonnie Dundee) and the Hanoverian loyalists led by General Mackay. As Kinsley states, the song is written in the voice of âone of Mackay's men saved only by the deaths, in pursuit, of Claverhouse and Haliburton of Pitcur' (Vol. III, no. 313, p. 1340).
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
O, Willie brewed a peck o' maut,
malt
       And Rob and Allan cam to see;
came
Three blyther hearts, that lee-lang night,
live-long
       Ye wad na found in Christendie.
would not
Chorus
5
We are na fou, we're nae that fou,
not full/drunk, not drunk
       But just a drappie in our e'e;
droplet, eye
The cock may craw, the day may daw,
crow, dawn
       And ay we'll taste the barley bree.
-brew
Here are we met, three merry boys,
10
       Three merry boys I trow are we;
pledge
And monie a night we've merry been,
       And monie mae we hope to be!
more
             We are na fou, &c.
It is the moon, I ken her horn,
know
       That's blinkin in the lift sae hie;
glinting, sky, high
15
She shines sae bright to wyle us hame,
so, lure, home
       But, by my sooth she'll wait a wee!
word, while
             We are na fou, &c.
Wha first shall rise to gang awa,
who, go away
       A cuckold, coward loun is he!
fool
Wha first beside his chair shall fa',
who, fall
20
       He is the king amang us three!
among
             We are na fou, &c.
The music to this drinking song is by Allan Masterton, one of the poet's Edinburgh friends, who, with the poet, is alluded to in the first stanza. The brewer of this Bacchanalian song, Willie, is William Nicol, the Latin teacher at Edinburgh High School. The song celebrates a convivial evening when the three friends met in Moffat where Nicol was on holiday.
For Robert Riddell's Wedding Anniversary
Tune: Seventh of November
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
The day returns, my bosom burns,
       The blissful day we twa did meet;
two
Tho' Winter wild in tempest toil'd,
       Ne'er simmer-sun was half sae sweet:
so
5
Than a' the pride that loads the tide,
       And crosses o'er the sultry Line;
Than kingly robes, than crowns and globes,
       Heav'n gave me more â it made thee mine.
While day and night can bring delight,
10
       Or Nature aught of pleasure give;
While Joys Above, my mind can move,
       For Thee and Thee alone I live!
When that grim foe of Life below
       Comes in between to make us part;
15
The iron hand that breaks our Band,
       It breaks my bliss â it breaks my heart!
This lyric was written by Burns to accompany a melody composed by his friend Robert Riddell of Glenriddell on his wedding anniversary, which fell on 7th November â hence the name of the tune. Burns was an intimate friend of the Riddells: âAt their fire-side I have enjoyed more pleasant evenings than at all the houses of fashionable people in this country put together ⦠many of the happiest hours of my life' (quoted by Cromek, p. 269, from Burns's notes in the
Interleaved Scots Musical Museum
). The song is sung as from the lips of Robert Riddell to his wife. Ll. 7â8 are also politically apposite to Burns's relationship to Robert Riddell.
Tune: The Blathrie O' 't
First printed in the S.M.M., Vol. 3, 2nd February, 1790.
I gaed a waefu' gate, yestreen,
went, doleful, way, last night
       A gate, I fear, I'll dearly rue;
I gat my death frae twa sweet een,
got, from two, eyes
       Twa lovely een o' bonie blue.
two, eyes
âTwas not her golden ringlets bright,
       Her lips like roses, wat wi' dew,
wet
Her heaving bosom, lily-white,
       It was her een sae bonie blue.
eyes so
She talk'd, she smil'd, my heart she wyl'd,
       She charm'd my soul I wist na how;
know not
And ay the stound, the deadly wound,
heart ache
       Cam frae her een sae bonie blue.
came from, eyes so
But spare to speak, and spare to speed;
shy & inattentive
       She'll aiblins listen to my vow:
maybe
Should she refuse, I'll lay my dead
       To her twa een sae bonie blue.
two eyes so
This was composed on Jean Jaffray (1773â1850), daughter of Rev. Andrew Jaffray, minister at Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire. The initial air by Robert Riddell was changed to
The Blathrie O' 't
in Thomson's version.
