The Canongate Burns (64 page)

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Authors: Robert Burns

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Wha is That at My Bower Door?

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

Wha is that at my bower-door?
who, cottage

         O, wha is it but Findlay;

Then gae your gate, ye 'se nae be here!
go, way, not

         Indeed maun I! quo' Findlay. —
must

5
What mak ye, sae like a thief?
so

         O, come and see, quo' Findlay,

Before the morn ye'll work mischief;

         Indeed will I, quo' Findlay. —

Gif I rise and let you in,
what if

10
         Let me in, quo' Findlay;

Ye'll keep me waukin wi' your din;
waken

         Indeed will I, quo' Findlay. —

In my bower if ye should stay,

         Let me stay, quo' Findlay;

15
I fear ye'll bide till break o' day;

         Indeed will I, quo' Findlay. —

Here this night if ye remain,

         I'll remain, quo' Findlay;

I dread ye'll learn the gate again;
come back

20
         Indeed will I, quo' Findlay. —

What may pass within this bower,

         Let it pass, quo' Findlay;

Ye maun conceal till your last hour;
must

         Indeed will I, quo' Findlay. —

This question and answer dialogue ballad is modelled on an old broadside
Who's that at my chamber door?
(Kinsley, Vol. III, no. 356, p. 1392).

The Bonny Wee Thing

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

Wishfully I look and languish

         In that bonie face o' thine;

And my heart it stounds wi' anguish,
beats

         Lest my wee thing be na mine. —
not

Chorus

5
Bonie wee thing, cannie wee thing,

         Lovely wee thing, wert thou mine;

I wad wear thee in my bosom,
would

         Lest my Jewel it should tine.
be lost

Wit, and Grace and Love, and Beauty,

10
         In ae constellation shine;
one

To adore thee is my duty,

         Goddess o' this soul o' mine!

                 Bonie wee thing, &c.

Deborah Duff Davies was a petite young Welshwoman who, especially from his letters to her (Letters 472A, 556A, 564) made, even by his inflammatory standards, an extraordinary impact on Burns. His erotic enthusiasm was further intensified by political approval. He met her as a friend of the Riddells at Woodley Park and, from the evidence of Letter 556A she shared his reformative radical passions: ‘They talk of REFORM – My God! What a reform would I make among the Sons, & even the Daughters, of Men!' She died an early consumptive death.

Ae Fond Kiss

Tune: Rory Dall's Port
First printed in Johnson's S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
one

Ae fareweel, and then forever!

Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,

Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee. —

5
Who shall say that Fortune grieves him,

While the star of hope she leaves him:

Me, nae cheerfu' twinkle lights me;
no

Dark despair around benights me. —

I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy:

10
Naething could resist my Nancy:
nothing

But to see her, was to love her;

Love but her, and love for ever. —

Had we never lov'd sae kindly,
so

Had we never lov'd sae blindly!

15
Never met — or never parted,

We had ne'er been broken-hearted. —

Fare-thee-weel, thou first and fairest!
-well

Fare-thee-weel, thou best and dearest!

Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
each/every

20
Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure! —

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!

Ae fareweel, Alas, for ever!

Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,

Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee. —

Kinsley has traced the source of this song to Dodsley:

One fond kiss before we part,

        Drop a Tear and bid Adieu;

Tho' we sever, my fond Heart

        Till we meet shall pant for you' (Vol. III, p. 1379).

If this is the ore, Burns has transmuted it into one of his most golden lyrics though Kinsley himself thinks the song's success depends on ll. 13–16.

Despite the over-heated artificiality of much of the relationship, Burns, because of his class, and Mrs MacLehose, because of her separated status, were, to a degree, outsiders in polite Edinburgh society. Her decision to rejoin her husband who she, against her Edinburgh surgeon father's advice, had married when seventeen and, five years and three children later, had separated from, led her to take ship, ironically, to Jamaica. The song, then, is charged with a combination of sexual loss and foreign exile, bringing together two of Burns's dominant themes. The journey, too, led only to further humiliation for her. Her husband stayed with his mistress, refused to meet her and so she took the same ship home. She long outlived the poet and in 1831 recorded in her Journal: ‘This day (6 December) I can never forget. Parted with Burns in the year 1791, never more to meet in this world. Oh, may we meet in Heaven!'

As I Was a Wand'ring

Tune: Rinn m'eudial mo mhealladh – a Gaelic air
First printed in Johnson's S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.

As I was a wand'ring ae midsummer e'enin,
one, evening

The pipers and youngsters were makin their game,
having fun

Amang them I spyed my faithless fause luver,
among, false

Which bled a' the wounds o' my dolour again. —

Chorus

5
Weel, since he has left me, may pleasure gae wi' him;
well, go

I may be distress'd, but I winna complain:
will not

I'll flatter my fancy I may get anither,
another

My heart it shall never be broken for ane. —
one

I could na get sleepin till dawin, for greetin;
not, dawn, weeping

10
The tears trickl'd down like the hail and the rain:

Had I na got greetin, my heart wad a broken,
not, crying, would

For Oh, luve forsaken's a tormenting pain!

       Weel, since he has left me &c.

Although he has left me for greed o' the siller,
money

I dinna envy him the gains he can win:
do not

15
I rather wad bear a' the lade o' my sorrow,
would, load

Than ever hae acted sae faithless to him. —
have, so

       Weel, since he has left me &c.

This is omitted by Mackay but accepted by Kinsley. Two versions of this traditional song have been given as the work of Burns. On this version, Kinsley asserts that only the last verse is by Burns. Kinsley has repeated Scott Douglas's error. The latter printed Johnson's text and asserted that only the final stanza came from Burns. The original text from the S.M.M. should not be the one attributed to Burns. This can be clearly seen if we compare the original text with the revised Burns one above:

As I was walking ae May morning,

The fiddlers and youngsters were makin their game;

And there I saw my faithless lover,

And a' my sorrows returned again.

Chorus

5
Weel, since he's gane – may joy gae wi' him!

It's never be he that shall gar me complain:

I'll cheer up my heart, and I
will
get another,

I'll never lay a' my luve upon ane ane. –

I could na get sleepin' yestreen, for weepin,

10
The tears trickl'd down like showers o' rain;

And had I no got greetin, my heart wad ha' broken,

And O! but love's a tormenting pain!

        Weel, since he has gane &c.

Although he has left me for greed o' the siller,

I dinna envy him the gains he can win:

15
I rather wad bear a' the lade o' my sorrow,

Than ever hae acted sae faithless to him. –

        Weel, since he has gane &c.

Lovely Davies

Tune: Miss Muir
First printed in Johnson's S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.

O how shall I, unskilfu', try

        The Poet's occupation?

The tunefu' Powers, in happy hours,

        That whisper, inspiration,

5
Even they maun dare an effort mair
may, more

        Than aught they ever gave us,

Or they rehearse in equal verse

        The charms o' lovely DAVIES. —

Each eye it cheers, when she appears,

10
        Like Phoebus in the morning,

When past the shower, and every flower

        The garden is adorning:

As the wretch looks o'er Siberia's shore,

        When winter-bound the wave is;

15
Sae droops our heart when we maun part
so, must

        Frae charming, lovely DAVIES. —
from

Her smile's a gift frae boon the lift,
from above, sky

        That maks us mair than princes;
more

A sceptred hand, a king's command,

20
        Is in her darting glances:

The man in arms 'gainst female charms,

        Even he her willing slave is;

He hugs his chain, and owns the reign

        Of conquering lovely DAVIES. —

25
My Muse to dream of such a theme,

        Her feeble powers surrender;

The eagle's gaze alone surveys;

        The sun's meridian splendour:

I wad in vain essay the strain,
would

30
        The deed too daring brave is;

I'll drap the lyre, and, mute, admire
drop/cease

        The charms o' lovely DAVIES. —

Letter 472A, which presumably accompanied this song, is a much more astonishing piece of prose than his conventional song.

The Weary Pund o' Tow

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

I bought my wife a stane o' lint,
stone in weight, flax

        As gude as e'er did grow;
good

And a' that she has made o' that

        Is ae poor pund o' tow.
one, pound string
 

Chorus

5
The weary pund, the weary pund,
pound

        The weary pund o' tow;
flax string

I think my wife will end her life,

        Before she spin her tow. — 

There sat a bottle in a bole,
hole in a wall

10
        Beyont the ingle lowe;
near, fireside flame

And ay she took the tither souk
another such

        To drouk the stourie tow. —
wet, dusty flax string

               The weary pund, &c. 

Quoth I, for shame, ye dirty dame,

        Gae spin your tap o' tow!
go

15
She took the rock, and wi' a knock,
distaff

        She brake it o'er my pow. —
head

               The weary pund, &c.

At last her feet, I sang to see't,

        Gaed foremost o'er the knowe;
went, edge of hill

And or I wad anither jad,
wed another hussy

20
        I'll wallop in a tow. —

               The weary pund, &c. 

As Kinsley has rightly remarked (Vol. III, no. 360, p. 1395), this is based on a traditional English song, published in a collection
The
Charmer
in 1782, beginning ‘I bought my woman and my wife half a pound of tow'. As with other English songs, Burns has given this what he termed a
Scots dress.

I Hae a Wife o' My Ain

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

I hae a wife o' my ain,
have, own

        I'll partake wi' naebody;
nobody

I'll tak Cuckold frae nane,
take, from none

        I'll gie Cuckold to naebody. —
give, nobody

5
I hae a penny to spend,
have

        There, thanks to naebody;

I hae naething to lend,
have nothing

        I'll borrow frae naebody. —
from nobody

I am naebody's lord,

10
        I'll be slave to naebody;

I hae a gude braid sword,
have good broad

        I'll tak dunts frae naebody. —
blows from

I'll be merry and free,

        I'll be sad for naebody;

15
Naebody cares for me,

        I care for naebody. —

This is adapted from an old simple Scots ballad on defiant self-sufficiency against poverty and was not composed by Burns just after his marriage as some editors have erroneously believed. If it had been Burns's own work he would have signed it in the S.M.M.

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