I Do Confess Thou Art Sae Fair.

Tune - "I do confess thou art sae fair."


I.

    I do confess thou art sae fair,
        I wad been o'er the lugs in love,
    Had I na found the slightest prayer
        That lips could speak thy heart could muve.
    I do confess thee sweet, but find
        Thou art sae thriftless o' thy sweets,
    Thy favours are the silly wind,
        That kisses ilka thing it meets.

II.

    See yonder rose-bud, rich in dew,
        Amang its native briers sae coy;
    How sune it tines its scent and hue
        When pou'd and worn a common toy!
    Sic fate, ere lang, shall thee betide,
        Tho' thou may gaily bloom awhile;
    Yet sune thou shalt be thrown aside
        Like ony common weed and vile.

Robert Burns

Robert Burns, also known as Rabbie Burns, the Bard of Ayrshire, and various other names and epithets, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. Born on January 25, 1759, in Alloway, he is best known for works such as 'Auld Lang Syne,' 'Scots Wha Hae,' and 'A Red, Red Rose.' He passed away on July 21, 1796, in Dumfries.

Robert Burns

The Heron Ballads. (Ballad Third.)

Robert Burns, Simple Poetry

I Am My Mammy's Ae Bairn.

Robert Burns, Simple Poetry

There Was A Lass.

Robert Burns, Simple Poetry

On The Same. (On Seeing The Beautiful Seat Of Lord Galloway.)

Robert Burns, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

Fair Eliza.

A Gaelic Air.



I.

    Turn again, thou fair Eliza,
        Ae kind blink before we part,
    Rue on thy despairing lover!
        Canst thou break his faithfu' heart?
    Turn again, thou fair Eliza;
        If to love thy heart denies,
    For pity hide the cruel sentence
        Under friendship's kind disguise!

II.

    Thee, dear maid, hae I offended?
        The offence is loving thee:
    Canst thou wreck his peace for ever,
        Wha for time wad gladly die?
    While the life beats in my bosom,
        Thou shalt mix in ilka throe;
    Turn again, thou lovely maiden.
        Ae sweet smile on me bestow.

III.

    Not the bee upon the blossom,
        In the pride o' sunny no...

Robert Burns

She's Fair And Fause.

Tune - "She's fair and fause."


I.

    She's fair and fause that causes my smart,
        I lo'ed her meikle and lang;
    She's broken her vow, she's broken my heart,
        And I may e'en gae hang.
    A coof cam in wi' routh o' gear,
    And I hae tint my dearest dear;
    But woman is but warld's gear,
        Sae let the bonnie lass gang.

II.

    Whae'er ye be that woman love,
        To this be never blind,
    Nae ferlie 'tis tho' fickle she prove,
        A woman has't by kind.
    O woman, lovely woman fair!
    An angel form's fa'n to thy share,
    'Twad been o'er meikle to gien thee mair
        I mean an angel mind.

Robert Burns

She Says She Loves Me Best Of A'.

Tune - "Onagh's Waterfall."


I.

    Sae flaxen were her ringlets,
        Her eyebrows of a darker hue,
    Bewitchingly o'er-arching
        Twa laughin' een o' bonnie blue.
    Her smiling sae wyling,
        Wad make a wretch forget his woe;
    What pleasure, what treasure,
        Unto these rosy lips to grow:
    Such was my Chloris' bonnie face,
        When first her bonnie face I saw;
    And ay my Chloris' dearest charm,
        She says she lo'es me best of a'.

II.

    Like harmony her motion;
        Her pretty ankle is a spy,
    Betraying fair proportion,
        Wad mak a saint forget the sky.
    Sae warming, sae charming,
        Her faultless form and gracefu' air;
    Ilk feature -...

Robert Burns

This Is No My Ain Lassie.

Tune - "This is no my ain house."



I.

            O this is no my ain lassie,
                Fair tho' the lassie be;
            O weel ken I my ain lassie,
                Kind love is in her e'e.
    I see a form, I see a face,
    Ye weel may wi' the fairest place:
    It wants, to me, the witching grace,
        The kind love that's in her e'e.

II.

    She's bonnie, blooming, straight, and tall,
    And lang has had my heart in thrall;
    And ay it charms my very saul,
        The kind love that's in her e'e.

III.

    A thief sae pawkie is my Jean,
    To steal a blink, by a' unseen;
    But gleg as light are lovers' een,
        When kind love is in the e'e.

IV.

...

Robert Burns

O Luve Will Venture In.

Tune - "The Posie."


I.

    O luve will venture in
        Where it daurna weel be seen;
    O luve will venture in
        Where wisdom ance has been.
    But I will down yon river rove,
        Among the wood sae green
    And a' to pu' a posie
        To my ain dear May.

II.

    The primrose I will pu',
        The firstling o' the year,
    And I will pu' the pink,
        The emblem o' my dear,
    For she's the pink o' womankind,
        And blooms without a peer
    And a' to be a posie
        To my ain dear May.

III.

    I'll pu' the budding rose,
        When Phoebus peeps in view,
    For it's like a baumy kiss
        O' her sweet bonnie mou';
    The hyacinth's...

Robert Burns

Fair Jeany.

Tune - "Saw ye my father?"



I.

    Where are the joys I have met in the morning,
        That danc'd to the lark's early song?
    Where is the peace that awaited my wand'ring,
        At evening the wild woods among?

II.

    No more a-winding the course of yon river,
        And marking sweet flow'rets so fair:
    No more I trace the light footsteps of pleasure,
        But sorrow and sad sighing care.

III.

    Is it that summer's forsaken our valleys,
        And grim, surly winter is near?
    No, no, the bees' humming round the gay roses,
        Proclaim it the pride of the year.

IV.

    Fain would I hide, what I fear to discover,
        Yet long, long too well have I known,

Robert Burns