As I Was a Wand'ring
written in 1792
As I Was a Wand'ring - meaning Summary
Stoic Grief and Defiance
In this Scots lyric a woman meets her faithless lover at a midsummer gathering and relives the pain of abandonment. She weeps through the night yet repeatedly asserts a stoic resolve: she will not complain, hopes to find another, and refuses to let one betrayal break her heart. At the same time she rejects her lover’s greed and says she would rather carry sorrow than be faithless herself. The poem balances immediate, personal sorrow with defiant self-respect, giving a plain but emotionally steady voice to love and loss.
Read Complete AnalysesAs I was a wand'ring ae midsummer e'enin, The pipers and youngsters were makin their game, Amang them I spyed my faithless fause luver, Which bled a' the wounds o' my dolour again. Weel, since he has left me, may pleasure gae wi' him; I may be distress'd, but I winna complain: I flatter my fancy I may get anither, My heart it shall never be broken for ane. I could na get sleeping till dawin, for greetin; The tears trickl'd down like the hail and the rain: Had I na got greetin', my heart wad a broken, For Oh, luve forsaken's a tormenting pain! Weel, since he has left me, may pleasure gae wi' him; I may be distress'd, but I winna complain: I flatter my fancy I may get anither, My heart it shall never be broken for ane. Although he has left me for greed o' the siller, I dinna envy him the gains he can win: I rather wad bear a' the lade o' my sorrow, Than ever hae acted sae faithless to him. Weel, since he has left me, may pleasure gae wi' him; I may be distress'd, but I winna complain: I flatter my fancy I may get anither, My heart it shall never be broken for ane.
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