My Bony Mary
written in 1788
My Bony Mary - context Summary
Farewell Before Military Departure
Written in 1788, the poem frames a soldierly farewell in intimate, plain language. The speaker asks for a last drink before leaving by ship, then contrasts martial sounds—trumpets, banners, distant battle—with his true anguish: parting from his beloved Mary. Sea and war imagery establish the departure’s setting, but the emotional center remains the personal cost of leaving. The poem reflects Burns’s reluctance to go and foregrounds affection over heroics, turning public spectacle into a private lament.
Read Complete AnalysesGo fetch to me a pint o' wine, And fill it in a silver tassie; That I may drink, before I go, A service to my bonie lassie: The boat rocks at the Pier o' Lieth, Fu' loud the wind blaws frae the Ferry, The ship rides by the Berwick-law, And I maun leave my bony Mary. The trumpets sound, the banners fly, The glittering spears are ranked ready, The shouts o' war are heard afar, The battle closes deep and bloody. It's not the roar o' sea or shore, Wad make me langer wish to tarry; Nor shouts o' war that's heard afar - It's leaving thee, my bony Mary!
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