O Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast
O wert thou in the cauld blast,On yonder lea, on yonder lea,My plaidie to the angry airt,I’d shelter thee, I’d shelter thee;Or did Misfortune’s bitter stormsAround thee blaw, around thee blaw,Thy bield should be my bosom,To share it a’, to share it a’.
Or were I in the wildest waste,Sae black and bare, sae black and bare,The desert were a Paradise,If thou wert there, if thou wert there;Or were I Monarch o’ the globe,Wi’ thee to reign, wi’ thee to reign,The brightest jewel in my CrownWad be my Queen, wad be my Queen.
Inscription To Miss Jessy Lewars
On a copy of the Scots Musical Museum, in four volumes, presented to her by Burns. ^1
Thine be the volumes, Jessy fair,And with them take the Poet’s prayer,That Fate may, in her fairest page,With ev’ry kindliest, best presageOf future bliss, enroll thy name:With native worth and spotless fame,And wakeful caution, still awareOf ill—but chief, Man’s felon snare;
All blameless joys on earth we find,And all the treasures of the mind—These be thy guardian and reward;So prays thy faithful friend, the Bard.
Dumfries, June 26, 1769.
Written for music played by Miss Lewars, who nursed him in his last illness. ↩