Celebrating the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns' birth, please post your favourite poem of his, or one inspired by his works, or one of your own!!
To get us started:
A Red, Red Rose
by Robert Burns
Oh my luve is like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
Oh my luve is like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonie darlin',
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare the weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel a while!
And I will come again, my luve,
Tho' it were ten thousand mile!
Okay, I changed a word: "lass"
OK, here's mine:
Comin' Thro the Rye
O, Jenny's a' weet, poor body,
Jenny's seldom dry;
She draigl't a' her petticoattie
Comin thro' the rye.
Chorus:
Comin thro the rye, poor body,
Comin thro the rye,
She draigl't a'her petticoatie,
Comin thro the rye!
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need a body cry?
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro the glen,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warld ken?
-- Robert Burns
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Notes:
a' weet: all wet
gin [g as in give]: if
draigl't a' her petticoattie: draggled (wet by trailing on the ground) all
her petticoats
ken: know
The first thing a typical English speaker will notice when introduced to
Burns's poetry is, of course, the dialect. However, once you get beyond
that, the most striking thing about his poems is how wonderfully musical
they are. Indeed, most of them practically sing themselves, and it is
unsurprising to learn that many (including today's piece) were actual song
lyrics rather than 'poetry'.
I also love the tone of today's piece, somewhere between playful and
earnest, though leaning towards the latter. Burns has captured the feel
of the setting and the moment perfectly, and done so in a few, simple words.
And despite its slightly plaintive air, I can see this working very well as
a drinking song :)
Snippets:
Salinger's classic 'Catcher in the Rye' owes its title to the protagonist's
misremembering the poem as 'Gin a body catch a body/ Comin thro the rye' -
the image of a 'catcher' in the rye stayed with him.
Notes from http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/675.html
Comin' Thro the Rye
O, Jenny's a' weet, poor body,
Jenny's seldom dry;
She draigl't a' her petticoattie
Comin thro' the rye.
Chorus:
Comin thro the rye, poor body,
Comin thro the rye,
She draigl't a'her petticoatie,
Comin thro the rye!
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need a body cry?
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro the glen,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warld ken?
-- Robert Burns
Well, he was obviously drinking sumpthun when he wrote this, but I'm not sure if it was gin or rye whiskey!! I'd like to know so I can imbibe sumpthun to help me finish up a little ditty I'd like to get composed before Valentine's Day!
And, Jeff, some interpretation please...he is writing about a woman named Louise who is wearing a bonnet? Or is she a bonnie lass, hehe?