O Wat Ye Wha's in Yon Town
O Wat Ye Wha's in Yon Town - fact Summary
About Jean Armour
This is a straightforward love lyric in which the speaker admires a beloved—Jeanie—seen in the evening sun and praised through nature imagery. He elevates her above earthly paradise, imagines a simple shelter where he would protect her, and pleads that fate spare her even if he must suffer. The poem repeatedly returns to a tender, worshipful refrain and insists that her beauty and goodness sustain him. It is believed to be written about Jean Armour, Burns’s wife, which anchors the personal tone.
Read Complete AnalysesO wat ye wha's in yon town, Ye see the e'enin Sun upon, The dearest maid's in yon town, That e'ening Sun is shining on. Now haply down yon gay green shaw She wanders by yon spreading tree; How blest ye flowers that round her blaw, Ye catch the glances o' her e'e. How blest ye birds that round her sing, And welcome in the blooming year, And doubly welcome be the spring, The season to my Jeanie dear. The sun blinks blyth on yon town, Among the broomy braes sae green; But my delight in yon town, And dearest pleasure, is my Jean. Without my Fair, not a' the charms O' Paradise could yield me joy; But gie me Jeanie in my arms, And welcome Lapland's dreary sky. My cave wad be a lover's bow'r, Tho' raging winter rent the air; And she a lovely little flower, That I wad tent and shelter there. O sweet is she in yon town, The sinkin, sun's gane down upon; A fairer than's in yon town, His setting beam ne'er shone upon. If angry Fate is sworn my foe, And suff'ring I am doom'd to bear; I careless quit aught else below, But spare, O spare me Jeanie dear. For while life's dearest blood is warm, Ae thought frae her shall ne'er depart, And she, as fairest is her form, She has the truest, kindest heart. O wat ye wha's in yon town, Ye see the e'enin Sun upon, The dearest maid's in yon town, That e'ening Sun is shining on.
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