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  • O, Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast
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O, Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast

Robert Burns

Oh 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 storms
Around 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 crown
Wad be my queen, wad be my queen.


Robert Burns

from The Canongate Burns: the complete poems and songs of Robert Burns (Canongate, 2001). Originally published posthumously in Currie, 1800.

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Robert Burns1759 - 1796

If ever a poet understood the character of his nation, he was Robert Burns. The language he was most fluent in wasn’t so much Scots or English – it was the language of the heart.
More about Robert Burns

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