A surprisingly
large number of his most effective songs are purely dramatic, are
placed in the mouth of a man who is clearly not the poet, or, more
frequently, in the mouth of a woman. There is little evidence that
Burns would have been capable of sustained dramatic composition; on
the other hand, he was far from being limited to purely personal lyric
utterance. His versatility in giving expression to the amorous moods
of the other sex is almost as great as in direct confession. A group
of these dramatic lyrics will demonstrate this.
O FOR ANE AN' TWENTY, TAM!
An' O for ane an' twenty, Tam!
An' hey, sweet are an' twenty, Tam!
I'll learn my kin a rattlin' sang, [teach]
An' I saw ane an' twenty, Tam. [If]
They snool me sair, and haud me down, [snub, sorely, hold]
An' gar me look like bluntie, Tam! [make, a fool]
But three short years will soon wheel roun',
An' then comes ane an' twenty, Tam.
A gleib o' lan', a claut o' gear, [portion, handful of money]
Was left me by my auntie, Tam;
At kith or kin I need na spier, [ask]
An' I saw ane and twenty, Tam.
They'll hae me wed a wealthy coof, [have, dolt]
Tho' I mysel' hae plenty, Tam;
But hear'st thou, laddie? there's my loof, [hand]
I'm thine at ane and twenty, Tam!
YE BANKS AND BRAES
(Second Version)
Ye flowery banks o' bonnie Doon,
How can ye blume sae fair?
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae fu' o' care?
Thou'll break my heart, thou bonnie bird,
That sings upon the bough;
Thou minds me o' the happy days, [remindest]
When my fause luve was true.
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