The Lea-rig
written in 1792
The Lea-rig - meaning Summary
Evening Meeting in the Lea-rig
The poem is a short pastoral love song in which the speaker promises to meet a beloved on the lea-rig (a grassy hillside) at dusk. Rural time markers — evening star, midnight, gloaming — shape the speaker’s devotion and readiness to travel through wet or weary conditions to keep the appointment. The voice combines simple, colloquial Scots and steady rhythms to celebrate countryside life and romantic fidelity. It reflects Burns’s recurring themes of rustic landscape, evening gatherings, and affectionate commitment in rural Scotland.
Read Complete AnalysesWhen o'er the hill the eastern star Tells bughtin-time is near, my jo, And owsen frae the furrow'd field Return sae dowf and weary O; Down by the burn where scented birks Wi' dew are hangin clear, my jo, I'll meet thee on the lea-rig, My ain kind Dearie O. At midnight hour, in mirkest glen, I'd rove and ne'er be irie O, If thro' that glen I gaed to thee, My ain kind Dearie O: Altho' the night were ne'er sae wet, And I were ne'er sae weary O, I'll meet thee on the lea-rig, My ain kind Dearie O. The hunter lo'es the morning sun; To rouse the mountain deer, my jo; At noon the fisher seeks the glen, Adown the burn to steer, my jo: Gie me the hour o' gloamin grey, It maks my heart sae cheary O To meet thee on the lea-rig, My ain kind Dearie O.
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