5

10

AULD LANG SYNE.

SHOULD auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to min'?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne?

CHORUS.

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,

And pu'd the gowans fine;

But we've wandered monie a weary foot,

Sin' auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl't i' the burn,

Frae morning sun till dine;

15 But seas between us braid hae roared, Sin' auld lang syne.

20

And here's a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie 's a hand o' thine;

And we'll tak a right guid willie-waught,

For auld lang syne.

9. twa, two; braes, hillsides.

10. gowans, daisies.

13. paidl't, paddled; burn, stream.

14. dine, dinner-time.

15. braid, broad.

17. fiere, friend.

19. willie-waught, hearty draught.

208

And surely you'll be your pint-stoup,
And surely I'll be mine;

And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.

MY FATHER WAS A FARMER.

TUNE- The Weaver and his Shuttle, O.

My father was a farmer upon the Carrick border, O,
And carefully he bred me in decency and order, O;
He bade me act a manly part, though I had ne'er
a farthing, O,

For without an honest manly heart no man was
worth regarding, O.

5 Then out into the world my course I did determine, O;

Though to be rich was not my wish, yet to be great was charming, O:

My talents they were not the worst, nor yet my education, O;

Resolved was I, at least to try, to mend my situation, O.

In many a way, and vain essay, I courted fortune's

favor, O;

10 Some cause unseen still stept between, to frustrate each endeavor, O.

Sometimes by foes I was o'erpowered, sometimes by friends forsaken, O;

And when my hope was at the top, I still was worst mistaken, O.

21. stoup, flagon.

Then sore harassed, and tired at last, with fortune's vain delusion, O,

I dropt my schemes, like idle dreams, and came to this conclusion, O:

15 The past was bad, and the future hid-its good or ill untried, O;

But the present hour was in my power, and so I would enjoy it, O.

No help, nor hope, nor view had I, nor person to befriend me, O;

So I must toil, and sweat, and broil, and labor to sustain me, O;

To plough and sow, to reap and mow, my father bred me early, O;

20 For one, he said, to labor bred, was a match for fortune fairly, O.

Thus all obscure, unknown, and poor, through life I'm doomed to wander, O,

Till down my weary bones I lay, in everlasting slumber, O.

No view nor care, but shun whate'er might breed me pain or sorrow, O;

I live to-day as well's I may, regardless of to-morrow, O.

25 But cheerful still, I am as well as a monarch in a palace, O,

Though fortune's frown still hunts me down with all her wonted malice, O:

I make indeed my daily bread, but ne'er can make it farther, O

But as daily bread is all I need, I do not much regard her, O.

When sometimes by my labor I earn a little

money, O,

30 Some unforeseen misfortune comes generally upon

me, 0:

Mischance, mistake, or by neglect, or my good-natured folly, O:

But come what will, I've sworn it still, I'll ne'er be melancholy, O.

All you who follow wealth and power with unremitting ardor, O,

The more in this you look for bliss, you leave your view the farther, O:

35 Had you the wealth Potosi boasts, or nations to adore you, O,

A cheerful honest-hearted clown I will prefer before you, O.

JOHN ANDERSON.

TUNE-John Anderson my Jo.
JOHN ANDERSON my jo, John,
When we were first acquent,
Your locks were like the raven,
Your bonny brow was brent;
5 But now your brow is beld, John,
Your locks are like the snaw;
But blessings on your frosty pow,
John Anderson my jo.

35. Potosi, a famous mining town of South America.

1. jo, sweetheart.

2. acquent, acquainted.

4. brent, smooth.

5. beld, bald.

7. pow, head.

John Anderson my jo, John,
10 We clamb the hill thegither,
And monie a canty day, John,
We've had wi' ane anither:
Now we maun totter down, John,
But hand in hand we'll go,
15 And sleep thegither at the foot,
John Anderson my jo.

FLOW GENTLY, SWEET AFTON.

Flow Gently, Sweet Afton, is one of the songs, like the two that follow, composed in honor of Mary Campbell. After promising to marry Burns, she went from Ayrshire to her parents in Argyleshire, in May, 1786, to make ready for the marriage; but five months later, before it could take place, she died. Their parting on the banks of the Ayr is the theme of the song Highland Mary. Popular tradition has it that after plighting solemn troth, "they stood on either side of a brook, they dipped their hands in the water, exchanged Bibles and parted." The poem To Mary in Heaven was written three years later, when Burns was living with his wife at Ellisland.

FLOW gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes,
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 through 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.

10. clamb, climbed; thegither, together.

11. canty, pleasant.

12. ane anither, one another.