The Banks o' Doon

Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)



YE flowery banks o' bonnie Doon,
   How can ye blume sae fair!
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
   And I sae fu' o' care!

Thou'll break my heart, thou bonnie bird,
   That sings upon the bough;
Thou minds me o' the happy days
   When my fause luve was true.

Thou'll break my heart, thou bonnie bird,
   That sings beside thy mate;
For sae I sat, and sae I sang,
   And wistna o' my fate.

Aft hae I roved by bonnie Doon,
   To see the woodbine twine;
And ilka bird sang o' its luve,
   And sae did I o' mine.

Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose
   Upon a morn in June;
And sae I flourish'd on the morn,
   And sae was pu'd or' noon.

Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose
   Upon its thorny tree;
But my fause luver staw my rose,
   And left the thorn wi' me.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

47 sec read
228

Quick analysis:

Scheme abxb Cxxx Cdxd aaxa Eaaa Efef
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 761
Words 151
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist. more…

All Robert Burns poems | Robert Burns Books

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