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(Robert Burns) |
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Ae fond kiss and then we sever
Ae fareweel and then forever
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee
Warring cries and groans I'll wage thee
I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy
Nothing could resist my Nancy
Just to see her is to love her
Lover but her and love forever
Had we never loved sae kindly
Had we never loved sae blindly
Never loved and never parted
We had ne'er been broken-hearted
Fare-thee-weel, thou first and fairest
Fare-thee-weel, thou best and dearest
Thine be every joy and treasure
Peace, contentment, love and pleasure
Ae fond kiss and then we sever
Ae fareweel, alas, forever
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee
Warring cries and groans I'll wage thee |
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Burns wrote this poem after the end of his passionate but unusually platonic relationship with the unhappily married Mrs Agnes Craig M'Lehose, whom he referred to alternatively as "Nancy" and "Clarinda". Their relationship dwindled after Burns married Jean Armour. Mrs M'Lehose subsequently sailed to Jamaica from Leith in February 1792 on an attempt at reconciliation with her husband; this failed as he had taken one of his black slaves as a concubine. Burns originally set this song to the tune "Rory Dall's Port". |
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