Wilt thou be my Dearie and Contented wi' little, & cantie wi' mair
Wilt thou be my Dearie ----
Tune, The Sutor's dochter
Wilt thou be my Dearie:
When sorrow wrings thy gentle heart,
Wilt thou let me chear thee:
By the treasures of my soul!
That's the love I bear thee!
I swear & vow, that only thou
Shalt ever be my Dearie --
Only thou I swear & vow,
Shalt ever be my Dearie. ----
Lassie, say thou lo'es me;
Or if thou wilt na be my ain,
Say na thou'lt refuse me:
If it winna, canna be,
Thou for thine may chuse me,
Let me, Lassie, quickly die,
Trusting that thou lo'es me --
Lassie, let me quickly die,
Trusting that thou lo'es me.----
_____________
Tune, The Sutor's dochter
Wilt thou be my Dearie:
When sorrow wrings thy gentle heart,
Wilt thou let me chear thee:
By the treasures of my soul!
That's the love I bear thee!
I swear & vow, that only thou
Shalt ever be my Dearie --
Only thou I swear & vow,
Shalt ever be my Dearie. ----
Lassie, say thou lo'es me;
Or if thou wilt na be my ain,
Say na thou'lt refuse me:
If it winna, canna be,
Thou for thine may chuse me,
Let me, Lassie, quickly die,
Trusting that thou lo'es me --
Lassie, let me quickly die,
Trusting that thou lo'es me.----
_____________
A Scots lilt, new off the airns, the the tune
of, Lumps o' puddins ----
Contented wi' little, & cantie wi' mair,
Whene'er I forgather wi' Sorrow & Care,
I gie them a skelp, as they're creepin alang,
Wi' a cog o' gude swats & an auld Scottish sang. --
I whyles claw the elbow o' troublesome thought,
But Man is a Soger, & Life is a Faught;
My mirth & good humour are coin in my pouch,
And my freedom's my lairdship nae monarch dare touch
A towmont o' trouble, should that be my fa',
A night o' gude fellowship sowthers it a':
When at the blyth end of our journey at last,
Wha the deil ever thinks o' the road he has past. --
Blind Chance, let her snapper & stoyte on her way
Be't to me, be't frae me, e'en let the jad gae;
Come ease or come travail, come pleasure or pain,
My warst wesh word is, 'Welcome, & welcome again!'
RB
newly composed & this is the first copy
6th April 1795
of, Lumps o' puddins ----
Contented wi' little, & cantie wi' mair,
Whene'er I forgather wi' Sorrow & Care,
I gie them a skelp, as they're creepin alang,
Wi' a cog o' gude swats & an auld Scottish sang. --
I whyles claw the elbow o' troublesome thought,
But Man is a Soger, & Life is a Faught;
My mirth & good humour are coin in my pouch,
And my freedom's my lairdship nae monarch dare touch
A towmont o' trouble, should that be my fa',
A night o' gude fellowship sowthers it a':
When at the blyth end of our journey at last,
Wha the deil ever thinks o' the road he has past. --
Blind Chance, let her snapper & stoyte on her way
Be't to me, be't frae me, e'en let the jad gae;
Come ease or come travail, come pleasure or pain,
My warst wesh word is, 'Welcome, & welcome again!'
RB
newly composed & this is the first copy
6th April 1795
Key details
- Archive number
- NTS/02/25/BRN/02/87
- Alt. number
- 3.6245
- Date
- November 1794
- On display
- No
- Creator
- Burns, Robert (Author)
- Archive number
- NTS/02/25/BRN/02/87
- Alt. number
- 3.6245
- Date
- November 1794
- On display
- No
- Creator
- Burns, Robert (Author)
Description
Wilt thou be my Dearie' and 'Contented wi' little, & cantie wi' mair'. Begins "Wilt thou be my Dearie". Two stanzas of nine-lines each. First published in the "Morning Chronicle", 10th May 1794, Annotation "The Scotch Bard's own handwriting".
The front page of this manuscript contains the song Contented wi' little, & cantie wi' mair. This appears to be an early draft of the work drafted in 1794. Burns offered the song to George Thomson for inclusion in A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice but ultimately gave it to James Johnson for the Scots Musical Museum.
The manuscript also contains an annotation in an unknown hand, 'newly composed and this the first copy, 6th April 1795'.
The reverse contains the song Wilt thou be my Dearie. The song was first published in the Morning Chronicle on 10 May 1794 but it was written at an earlier date. Burns had sent an earlier version to his friend Alexander Cunningham in March of that same year.
Burns considered this one of his best songs, which he set to the old Highland tune of The Suitor's Dochter. The Jeanie of the song is unknown, although it has been speculated that it was based on Janet Miller, the daughter of Burns's friend Patrick Miller.
The manuscript also contains the annotation in an unknown hand, 'The Scotch Bard's own handwriting'.;Begins: "Contented wi little, and cantie wi mair" Composed in November 1794, with annotation, not in R.B.'s hand, "newly composed and this the first copy, 6th April 1795". Four stanzas of four-lines each. With another poem on the reverse of the ms. see item ref 345.02.
The reverse contains the song Wilt thou be my Dearie. The song was first published in the Morning Chronicle on 10 May 1794 but it was written at an earlier date. Burns had sent an earlier version to his friend Alexander Cunningham in March of that same year.
Burns considered this one of his best songs, which he set to the old Highland tune of The Suitor's Dochter. The Jeanie of the song is unknown, although it has been speculated that it was based on Janet Miller, the daughter of Burns's friend Patrick Miller.
The manuscript also contains the annotation in an unknown hand, 'The Scotch Bard's own handwriting'.;Begins: "Contented wi little, and cantie wi mair" Composed in November 1794, with annotation, not in R.B.'s hand, "newly composed and this the first copy, 6th April 1795". Four stanzas of four-lines each. With another poem on the reverse of the ms. see item ref 345.02.
Archive information
Themes
Hierarchy
-
Robert Burns, collection of poems and songs
(
a sub-fonds is a subdivision in the archival material)
- Wilt thou be my Dearie and Contented wi' little, & cantie wi' mair
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