O Saw Ye Bonie Lesley
written in 1792
O Saw Ye Bonie Lesley - fact Summary
Written in 1792
This short lyric is Robert Burns’ exuberant praise of a woman named Lesley. It presents her as unrivaled in beauty and power, likening her conquests to Alexander and calling her queenly and divine. The speaker insists that nature uniquely fashioned her and imagines supernatural and earthly forces protecting her from harm. The poem closes with a plea for Lesley’s return to Caledonia so Scots can boast of her. The poem reflects Burns’s admiration, though Lesley’s exact identity and context remain uncertain.
Read Complete AnalysesO saw ye bonie Lesley, As she gaed o'er the Border? She's gane, like Alexander, To spread her conquests farther. To see her is to love her, And love but her for ever; For Nature made her what she is And never made anither. Thou art a queen, fair Lesley, Thy subjects we, before thee: Thou art divine, fair Lesley, The hearts o' men adore thee. The deil he could na scaith thee, Or aught that wad belang thee: He'd look into thy bonie face, And say, 'I canna wrang thee!' The Powers aboon will tent thee, Misfortune sha'na steer thee; Thou'rt like themsels sae lovely, That ill they'll ne'er let near thee. Return again, fair Lesley, Return to Caledonie! That we may brag we hae a lass There's nane again sae bonie.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.