Highland Lassie O
written in 1786
Highland Lassie O - fact Summary
Composed in 1786
Written in 1786, this songlike poem expresses Robert Burns’s straightforward admiration for a Highland woman. It rejects aristocratic titles as "empty show" and celebrates the lass’s constancy, honor, and reciprocal devotion. The speaker vows lifelong fidelity, readiness to brave distant seas and seek fortune abroad for her sake, yet laments the need to leave the familiar glen. The poem reflects Burns’s personal encounters with Highland women during his time in the region and channels that experience into a plainspoken declaration of love and loyalty.
Read Complete AnalysesNae gentle dames tho' ne'er sae fair Shall ever be my Muse's care; Their titles a' are empty show, Gie me my Highland Lassie, O. � Within the glen sae bushy, O, Aboon the plain sae rashy, O, I set me down wi' right gude will To sing my Highland Lassie, O. � O were yon hills and vallies mine, Yon palace and yon gardens fine; The world then the love should know I bear my Highland Lassie, O.- But fickle Fortune frowns on me, And I maun cross the raging sea; But while my crimson currents flow, I love my Highland Lassie, O.- Altho' thro' foreign climes I range, I know her heart will never change; For her bosom burns with honor's glow, My faithful Highland Lassie, O- For her I'll dare the billow's roar; For her I'll trace a distant shore; That Indian wealth may lustre throw Around my Highland Lassie, O.- She has my heart, she has my hand, By secret Truth and Honor's band: Till the mortal stroke shall lay me low, I'm thine, my Highland Lassie, O.- Farewel, the glen sae bushy!O Farewel, the plain sae rashy!O To other lands I now must go To sing my Highland Lassie, O.-
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