POEMS AND SONGS. Song-Handsome Nell.1 Tune-"I am a man unmarried." O ONCE I lov'd a bonie lass, And whilst that virtue warms my breast, As bonie lasses I hae seen, A bonie lass, I will confess, Is pleasant to the e'e; But, without some better qualities, But Nelly's looks are blythe and sweet, Her reputation is complete, a handsome. "'em 1"The first of my performances," says Burns. The song was an bodiment" of the favourite reel of Nelly Kirkpatrick, daughter of the blacksmith at Mount Oliphant in 1773. The text is that of the Commonplace Book, agreeing with that in Johnson's Museum, vol. vi. (1803). In But Nelly's looks are blythe and sweet O TIBBIE, I HAE SEEN THE DAY She dresses aye sae clean and neat, And then there's something in her gait A gaudy dress and gentle air 'Tis this in Nelly pleases me, Song O Tibbie, I hae seen the day."1 Tune-"Invercauld's Reel, or Strathspey." Chor.-O Tibbie, I hae seen the day, Yestreen I met you on the moor, Ye spak na, but gaed by like stour; d Ye geck at But fient a hair care I. O TIBBIE, I HAE SEEN THE DAY When coming hame on Sunday last, O Tibbie, I hae seen the day, &c. I doubt na, lass, but ye may think, Ŏ Tibbie, I hae seen the day, &c. But sorrow tak' him that's sae mean, O Tibbie, I hae seen the day, &c. Altho' a lad were e'er sae smart, O Tibbie, I hae seen the day, &c. But if he hae the name o' gear, O Tibbie, I hae seen the day, &c. But, Tibbie, lass, tak' my advice: O Tibbie, I hae seen the day, &c. I DREAM'D I LAY There lives a lass beside yon park, O Tibbie, I hae seen the day, &c. Song-I dream'd I lay.1 I DREAM'D I lay where flowers were springing By a falling crystal stream: Straight the sky grew black and daring; Thro' the woods the whirlwinds rave; Trees with aged arms were warring, Such was my life's deceitful morning, Tho' fickle fortune has deceiv'd me She promis'd fair, and perform'd but ill, Song-In the Character of a ruined Farmer.2 Tune-" Go from my window, Love, do.” THE sun he is sunk in the west, All creatures retired to rest, While here I sit, all sore beset, With sorrow, grief, and woe: And it's O, fickle Fortune, O! ⚫ shift. b makes. An early example of Burns's need of a model to imitate. Here he followed Mrs Cockburn's variant of The Flowers o' the Forest, based on the old song whereof we now, probably, "Now ride I • muddy, troubled. have only a snatch single in my saddle." Burns assigns the piece to his seventeenth year. 2 Suggested by the misfortunes of the poet's father. A RUINED FARMER The prosperous man is asleep, The surly tempest blow: And it's O, fickle Fortune, O! There lies the dear partner of my breast; And it's O, fickle Fortune, O, There lie my sweet babies in her arms; No anxious fear their little hearts alarms; But for their sake my heart does ache, With many a bitter throe: And it's O, fickle Fortune, O! I once was by Fortune carest: And it's O, fickle Fortune, O! No comfort, no comfort I have! O whither, O whither shall I turn! And it's O, fickle Fortune, O! |