Country Lassie
written in 1792
Country Lassie - context Summary
Composed 1792, Rural Scotland
Written in 1792, this short pastoral poem places courtship and practical counsel in rural Scotland. In Scots dialect a young woman, Bessie, rejects a prosperous but loveless suitor, Johnie of Buskieglen, in favour of Robie, whose affection she values above wealth. An older woman offers pragmatic advice about choosing wisely and the hardships of life, while the speaker insists that love and contentment outweigh material riches. The piece reflects Burns s recurring interest in country life, local speech, and moral common sense rather than urban or aristocratic themes.
Read Complete AnalysesIn simmer when the hay was mawn, And corn wav'd green in ilka field, While claver blooms white o'er the lea, And roses blaw in ilka beild; Blythe Bessie, in the milkin-shiel, Says, I'll be wed, come o't what will; Outspak a dame in wrinkled eild, O' gude advisement comes nae ill. Its ye hae wooers mony ane, And lassie, ye're but young ye ken; Then wait a wee, and canie wale, A routhie butt, a routhie ben: There's Johnie o' the Buskieglen, Fu' is his barn, fu' is his byre; Take this frae me, my bonie hen, It's plenty beets the luver's fire. For Johnie o' the Buskieglen, I dinna care a single flie; He loes sae weel his craps and kye, He has nae love to spare for me: But blythe's the blink o' Robie's e'e, And weel I wat he loes me dear; Ae blink o' him I wad na gie For Buskie-glen and a' his gear. O thoughtless lassie, life's a faught, The canniest gate, the strife is sair; But aye fu' - han't is fechtin' best, A hungry care's an unco care: But some will spend and some will spare, An' wilfu' folk maun hae their will; Syne as ye brew, my maiden fair, Keep mind that ye maun drink the yill. O gear will buy me rigs o' land, And gear will buy me sheep and kye; But the tender heart o' leesome loove, The gowd and siller canna buy; We may be poor, Robie and I, Light is the burden Loove lays on; Content and Loove brings peace and joy, What mair hae queens upon a throne.
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