Read The Canongate Burns Online
Authors: Robert Burns
The Canongate Burns (68 page)
First printed in Johnson's S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes,
hill slopes
Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise;
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.
5
Thou stock dove whose echo resounds thro' the glen,
Ye wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den,
Thou green-crested lapwing, thy screaming forbear,
I charge you disturb not my slumbering Fair.
How lofty, sweet Afton, thy neighbouring hills,
10
Far mark'd with the courses of clear, winding rills;
There daily I wander as noon rises high,
My flocks and my Mary's sweet Cot in my eye.
cottage
How pleasant thy banks and green vallies below,
Where wild in the woodlands the primroses blow;
15
There oft, as mild ev'ning weeps over the lea,
The sweet-scented birk shades my Mary and me.
birch trees
Thy chrystal stream, Afton, how lovely it glides,
And winds by the cot where my Mary resides;
How wanton thy waters her snowy feet lave,
clean
20
As, gathering sweet flowerets she stems thy clear wave.
Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes,
Flow gently, sweet River, the theme of my lays;
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.
This fine song appears first on 5th February, 1789, in a letter from Ellisland to Mrs Dunlop: âThere is a small river, Afton, that falls into the Nith, near New Cumnock, which has some charming, wild, romantic scenery on its banks. â I have a particular pleasure in those little pieces of poetry such as our Scots songs, &c. where the names and landskip-features of rivers, lakes or woodlands, that one knows are introduced. â I attempted a compliment of that kind, to Afton, as follows' (Letter 310). The quotation found in the letter begins âFlow gently, clear Afton â¦', not âsweet Afton', suggesting it was re-drafted before publication. The spot described by Burns would appear to be Glen Afton, near New Cumnock.
First printed in Johnson's S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
The smiling Spring comes in rejoicing,
       And surly Winter grimly flies;
Now crystal clear are the falling waters,
       And bonie blue are the sunny skies.
5
Fresh o'er the mountains breaks forth the morning,
       The ev'ning gilds the Ocean's swell;
All Creatures joy in the sun's returning,
       And I rejoice in my Bonie Bell.
The flowery Spring leads sunny Summer,
10
       The yellow Autumn presses near,
Then in his turn comes gloomy Winter,
       Till smiling Spring again appear.
Thus seasons dancing, life advancing,
       Old Time and Nature their changes tell,
15
But never ranging, still unchanging,
       I adore my Bonie Bell.
The metre and flow of this song is irregular and does not have the expected natural ease of Burns's best songs. It was found in transcript, not in the poet's holograph. It is, however, signed as from Burns in the S.M.M. It is not known for certain if it is an
original work or a substantially updated traditional work. If the words âare' and âforth' were taken from lines 4, 5, and 6 â with further minor textual changes â it would read more like Burns. Whether Johnson modified lyrics we do not know given that their correspondence is incomplete. As it is signed as from Burns in print during his lifetime, there is little to question its authenticity.
Tune: The Weaver's March
First printed in Johnson's S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
Where Cart rins rowin to the sea,
runs
By mony a flower and spreading tree,
many
There lives a lad, the lad for me,
        He is a gallant Weaver. â
5
Oh I had wooers aught or nine,
eight
They gied me rings and ribbans fine;
gave, ribbons
And I was fear'd my heart wad tine
would break
        And I gied it to the Weaver. â
gave
My daddie sign'd my tocher-band
dowry agreement
10
To gie the lad that has the land,
give
But to my heart I'll add my hand
        And give it to the Weaver. â
While birds rejoice in leafy bowers,
While bees delight in opening flowers,
15
While corn grows green in simmer showers
summer
        I love my gallant Weaver. â
Mackay affirms this is a âreworking of a traditional ballad' (p. 464) but it is signed in the S.M.M. This suggests it is a substantial rewrite of the old song. It is surprising that Burns allowed âgied' in stanza 2 and âgive' in stanza 3 to stand, which, although incongruous, makes the ending of the song more English. The river Cart runs through Paisley, important to the weaving industry during the 1780s and '90s. The weaving community was definably politically radical.
or
The Carls of Dysart
First printed in Johnson's S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
Up wi' the carls of Dysart,
      And the lads o' Buckhaven,
And the Kimmers o' Largo,
      And the lasses o' Leven.
Chorus
5
Hey ca' thro' ca' thro'
pull
      For we hae mickle ado,
have much to do
Hey, ca' thro' ca' thro'
      For we hae mickle ado.
have much to do
We hae tales to tell,
have
10
      And we hae sangs to sing;
have songs
We hae pennies to spend,
      And we hae pints to bring.
            Hey ca' thro' &c.
We'll live a' our days,
      And them that comes behin',
15
Let them do the like,
      And spend the gear they win.
wealth
            Hey ca' thro' &c.
This is based on an old Fifeshire fishing song. It has been assumed that Burns collected this work when passing through Fife at the close of his Highland tour in the late Autumn of 1787. It is not certain that Burns improved the song but, on the assumption he did, it is placed in the canon. Given that many such old works are irregular in metre and uneven in quality, this song does appear to have been tightened up by Burns. The deceptively simple clarity of lyric would appear to be his handiwork.
First printed in Johnson's S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
I fee'd a man at Martinmass,
hired
        Wi' airle-pennies three;
bargain money
But a' the faute I had to him,
fault
        He could na labour lea.
could not, till grass land
Chorus
5
O can ye labour lea, young man,
        O can ye labour lea;
Gae back the gate ye came again,
go, way
        Ye'se never scorn me. â
O clappin's gude in Febarwar,
caressing, February
10
        An' kissin's sweet in May;
But what signifies a young man's love,
        An't dinna last for ay.
does not, ever
                O can ye &c.
O kissin is the key o' luve,
        An' clappin is the lock,
caressing
15
        An' makin-of 's the best thing,
        That e'er a young Thing got. â
                O can ye &c.
This is based on an old song Burns heard his own mother sing. As the original is unknown it is assumed Burns re-wrote the lyric. A bawdy version collected by Burns is in the
Merry Muses.
First printed in Johnson's S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
The bairns gat out wi' an unco shout,
child's got, great
The deuk's dang o'er my daddie, O,
duck, beaten
The fien-ma-care, quo' the feirrie auld wife,
devil-may-, lusty old
He was but a paidlin body, O. â
wading/messsing about
5
He paidles out, an' he paidles in,
paddles
An' he paidles late and early, O;
This seven lang years I hae lien by his side,
seven, have lain
An he is but a fusionless carlie, O. â
useless old man
O haud your tongue, my feirrie auld wife,
hold, lustful old
10
O haud your tongue, now Nansie, O:
I've seen the day, and sae hae ye,
so have
Ye wad na been sae donsie, O. â
would not, so saucy
I've seen the day ye butter'd my
brose, porridge/sexual connotations
And cuddled me late and early, O;
15
But downa do's come o'er me now,
cannot perform, can't do has
And, Oh, I find it sairly, O!
Although partly based on an old song this is signed in the S.M.M. indicating that it is substantially the work of Burns. This can be proven given the lines quoted by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe from the old song (see Wallace (1896), p. 382). This tragi-comic marriage dialogue is based on the old man's impotence.
Tune: The Lads of Leith.
First printed in Johnson's S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
She's fair and fause that causes my smart,
false
       I lo'ed her meikle and lang;
greatly, long
She's broken her vow, she's broken my heart,
       And I may e'en gae hang. â
go
5
A coof cam in wi' routh o' gear,
fool, plenty, money
       And I hae tint my dearest dear;
have lost
But Woman is but warld's gear,
world's wealth
       Sae let the bonie lass gang. â
so, go
Whae'er ye be that Woman love,
whoever
10
       To this be never blind;
Nae ferlie 'tis tho' fickle she prove,
no wonder
       A Woman has't by kind:
O Woman lovely, Woman fair!
       An angel form 's faun to thy share;
fallen
15
'Twad been o'er meikle to gien thee mair,
much, have given, more
       I mean an angel mind. â
Editors prior to Kinsley have guessed this song was written about Alexander Cunningham's mistress Anna, who jilted him (
See Anna,
Thy Charms
). There is no evidence to prove the claim. The song appears to be a traditional one improved by Burns. The tone of stanzas 1 and 2 is quite different: the first has a clumsy rhyme repitition on âgear', indicative of an amateur poet. The second stanza flows naturally and is almost certainly, in sentiment, language and diction, from Burns. Since the original song cannot be traced this conclusion is conjectural. It is surprising that Burns did not also improve the first stanza.
Tune: The Hemp-Dresser
First printed in Johnson's S.M.M., Vol. 4, 13th August 1792.
The Deil cam fiddlin thro' the town,
devil, came
       And danc'd awa wi' th' Exciseman;
And ilka wife cries, auld Mahoun,
every, old
       I wish you luck o' the prize, man.
Chorus
5
The deil's awa the deil's awa
away
       The deil's awa wi' th' Exciseman,
He's danc'd awa he's danc'd awa
       He's danc'd awa wi' th' Exciseman.
We'll mak our maut and we'll brew our drink,
malt/whisky
10
       We'll laugh, sing, and rejoice, man;
And mony braw thanks to the meikle black deil,
fine, great, devil
       That danc'd awa wi' th' Exciseman.
              The deil's awa &c.
There's threesome reels, there's foursome reels,
       There's hornpipes and strathspeys, man,
15
But the ae best dance ere cam to the Land
one, came
       Was, the deil's awa wi' th' Exciseman.
              The deil's awa &c.
Despite being unsigned in the S.M.M. the evidence in Letter 500 (to John Leven) indicates this is an original work by Burns. The notion Burns wrote the work extempore while waiting for reinforcements before boarding and taking the smuggling ship
Rosamond
on the Solway is probably myth. Burns may have thought of the song at that time but there is no definite proof of this folk tale.
