Braw Lads O Galla Water
written in 1793
Braw Lads O Galla Water - meaning Summary
Love Above Wealth and Rank
The speaker praises the attractive young men of nearby valleys but singles out one “bonie lad o’ Galla Water” as her true choice. Set in a rural pastoral landscape, the poem contrasts social rank and material wealth with simple, reciprocal love. Despite the lad’s modest background and the speaker’s limited dowry, they imagine a life together tending flocks by the river. The poem celebrates mutual affection and domestic contentment as the real source of pleasure, arguing that love, not money or status, is life’s chief treasure.
Read Complete AnalysesBraw, braw lads on Yarrow-braes, They rove amang the blooming heather; But Yarrow braes, nor Ettrick shaws Can match the lads o' Galla Water. But there is ane, a secret ane, Aboon them a' I loe him better; And I'll be his, and he'll be mine, The bonie lad o' Galla Water. Altho' his daddie was nae laird, And tho' I hae nae meikle tocher, Yet rich in kindest, truest love, We'll tent our flocks by Galla Water. It ne'er was wealth, it ne'er was wealth, That coft contentment, peace, or pleasure; The bands and bliss o' mutual love, O that's the chiefest warld's treasure.
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