English Song
written in 1795
English Song - context Summary
Composed in 1795
Written in 1795, this short song frames a speaker’s intense longing for a beloved named Chloris. Its repeated pleading chorus — “O wert thou, Love, but near me” — underlines isolation, coldness, and misfortune experienced by the narrator, who finds emotional shelter only in the imagined nearness of the beloved. The language is direct and songlike, alternating bleak scenes with hopeful anticipation of reunion. Knowing the date places the poem near the end of Burns’s life and helps readers hear its plaintive intimacy as part of his late output of popular, tuneful laments.
Read Complete AnalysesForlorn, my Love, no comfort near, Far, far from thee I wander here; Far, far from thee, the fate severe At which I most repine, Love. O wert thou, Love, but near me, But near, near, near me; How kindly thou wouldst chear me, And mingle sighs with mine, Love. Around me scowls a wintry sky, Blasting each bud of hope and joy; And shelter, shade, nor home have I, Save in these arms of thine, Love. O wert thou, Love, but near me, But near, near, near me; How kindly thou wouldst chear me, And mingle sighs with mine, Love. Cold, alter'd friend with cruel art Poisoning fell Misfortune's dart; Let me not break thy faithful heart, And say that fate is mine, Love. O wert thou, Love, but near me, But near, near, near me; How kindly thou wouldst chear me, And mingle sighs with mine, Love. But , dreary tho' the moments fleet, O let me think we yet shall meet! That only ray of solace sweet Can on thy Chloris shine, Love! O wert thou, Love, but near me, But near, near, near me; How kindly thou wouldst chear me, And mingle sighs with mine, Love.
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