Robert Burns

Desist, for shame!—proceed no further;God won’t accept your thanks for MURTHER

But the pride o’ the spring in the Craigieburn WoodCan yield to me nothing but sorrow.Chorus.—Beyond thee, dearie, beyond thee, dearie,And O to be lying beyond thee!O sweetly, soundly, weel may he sleepThat’s laid in the bed beyond thee!I see the spreading leaves and flowers,I hear the wild birds singing;But pleasure they hae nane for…

To every fiddling, rhyming billie,We never heed,But take it like the unback’d filly,Proud o’ her speed.When, idly goavin’, whiles we saunter,Yirr! fancy barks, awa we canter,Up hill, down brae, till some mischanter,Some black bog-hole,Arrests us; then the scathe an’ banterWe’re forced to thole.Hale be your heart! hale be your fiddle!Lang may your elbuck jink and…

Nae joy her bonie buskit nestCan yield ava,Her darling bird that she lo’es best—Willie’s awa!O Willie was a witty wight,And had o’ things an unco’ sleight,Auld Reekie aye he keepit tight,And trig an’ braw:But now they’ll busk her like a fright,—Willie’s awa!The stiffest o’ them a’ he bow’d,The bauldest o’ them a’ he cow’d;They durst…

Whare hae ye been sae braw, lad?Cam ye by Killiecrankie, O?Chorus.—An ye had been whare I hae been,Ye wad na been sae cantie, O;An ye had seen what I hae seen,I’ the Braes o’ Killiecrankie, O.I faught at land, I faught at sea,At hame I faught my Auntie, O;But I met the devil an’ Dundee,On…

Will ye go to the Indies, my Mary,Across th’ Atlantic roar?O sweet grows the lime and the orange,And the apple on the pine;But a’ the charms o’ the IndiesCan never equal thine.I hae sworn by the Heavens to my Mary,I hae sworn by the Heavens to be true;And sae may the Heavens forget me,When I…

October twenty-third,A ne’er-to-be-forgotten day,Sae far I sprackl’d up the brae,I dinner’d wi’ a Lord.I’ve been at drucken writers’ feasts,Nay, been bitch-fou ‘mang godly priests—Wi’ rev’rence be it spoken!—I’ve even join’d the honour’d jorum,When mighty Squireships of the quorum,Their hydra drouth did sloken.But wi’ a Lord!—stand out my shin,A Lord—a Peer—an Earl’s son!Up higher yet, my…

Unknowing what my way may thwart,My native land sae far awa.Thou that of a’ things Maker art,That formed this Fair sae far awa,Gie body strength, then I’ll ne’er startAt this my way sae far awa.How true is love to pure desert!Like mine for her sae far awa;And nocht can heal my bosom’s smart,While, oh, she…

Of mistress, friends, and wealth bereav’d me,Yet I bear a heart shall support me still.I’ll act with prudence as far ‘s I’m able,But if success I must never find,Then come misfortune, I bid thee welcome,I’ll meet thee with an undaunted mind.

That I might catch poetic skill,To sing how dear I love thee!But Nith maun be my Muse’s well,My Muse maun be thy bonie sel’,On Corsincon I’ll glowr and spell,And write how dear I love thee.Then come, sweet Muse, inspire my lay!For a’ the lee-lang simmer’s dayI couldna sing, I couldna say,How much, how dear, I…