Yon Wild Mossy Mountains
written in 1787
Yon Wild Mossy Mountains - meaning Summary
Love Prized Above Polish
Burns celebrates a humble, beloved woman set against wild Scottish hills. He prefers the secluded rural landscape and simple pleasures of roaming with her to polite society or grand valleys. The poem contrasts outward refinement, education, and social rank with inner qualities: kindness, reciprocal love, and the warmth of physical embrace. Burns admits she is not the most polished or highest-born, yet these intimate virtues make her irresistible. The poem reflects Burns admiration for a woman he loved, possibly Jean Armour.
Read Complete AnalysesYon wild, mossy mountains sae lofty and wide, That nurse in their bosom the youth o' the Clyde; Where the grous lead their coveys thro' the heather to feed, And the sheepherd tents his flock as he pipes on his reed. Not Gowrie's rich valley, nor Forth's sunny shores, To me hae the charms o' yon wild, mossy moors: For there, by a lanely, sequestered stream, Resides a sweet Lassie, my thought and my dream. Amang thae wild mountains shall still be my path, Ilk stream foaming down its ain green, narrow strath; For there, wi' my Lassie, the day-lang I rove, While o'er us, unheeded, flee the swift hours o' Love. She is not the fairest, altho' she is fair; O' nice education but sma' is her skair; Her parentage humble as humble can be; But I lo'e the dear Lassie because she loes me. To Beauty what man but maun yield him a prize, In her armour of glances, and blushes, and sighs; And when Wit and Refinement hae polish'd her darts, They dazzle our een, as they flie to our hearts. But Kindness, sweet Kindness, in the fond-sparkling e'e, Has lustre outshining the diamond to me; And the heart beating love as I'm clasp'd in her arms, O, these are my Lassie's all-conquering charms.
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