ROBERT BURNS 1759-96

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YE BANKS AND BRAES

Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon, 

How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair? 

How can ye chant, ye little birds, 

And I sae weary fu' o' care! 

Thou'll break my heart, thou warbling bird, 

That wantons thro' the flowering thorn: 

Thou minds me o' departed joys, 

Departed never to return. 

Aft hae I rov'd by bonnie Doon, 

To see the rose and woodbine twine: 

And ilka bird sang o' its Luve, 

And fondly sae did I o' mine; 

Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose, 

Fu' sweet upon its thorny tree! 

And may false Luver stole my rose, 

But ah! he left the thorn wi' me.

As well as writing his own poems, Burns also collected folk songs from across Scotland, often revising or adapting them. "Auld Lang Syne" is well-known throughout the world and is usually sung at Hogmanay (the last day of the year.) Other poems and songs of Burns that remain  popular are "My Love is like a Red, Red Rose", "A Man's a Man for A' That", "To a Mouse", "Tam o' Shanter" and "Ae Fond Kiss".

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