One guinea note with a poem by Robert Burns
Nae worth thy pow'r thou cursed leaf!
Fell source of all my woe and grief!
For lake o' thee I've lost my lass;
For lake o' thee I scrimp my glass;
I see the children of Affliction
unaided, thro thy curst restriction;
I've seen th' Oppressor's cruel smile,
Amid his hapless victim's spoil;
And for thy potence vainly wish'd,
To crush the Villain in the dust:
For lake o' thee I leave this much -lov'd shore,
Never perhaps to greet old Scotland more!
R.- B.--- Kyle.
Fell source of all my woe and grief!
For lake o' thee I've lost my lass;
For lake o' thee I scrimp my glass;
I see the children of Affliction
unaided, thro thy curst restriction;
I've seen th' Oppressor's cruel smile,
Amid his hapless victim's spoil;
And for thy potence vainly wish'd,
To crush the Villain in the dust:
For lake o' thee I leave this much -lov'd shore,
Never perhaps to greet old Scotland more!
R.- B.--- Kyle.
Key details
- Archive number
- NTS/02/25/BRN/02/04
- Alt. number
- 3.6016
- Date
- 1 March 1780
- On display
- Yes
- Creator
- Burns, Robert (Author)
- Bank of Scotland
- Archive number
- NTS/02/25/BRN/02/04
- Alt. number
- 3.6016
- Date
- 1 March 1780
- On display
- Yes
- Creator
- Burns, Robert (Author)
- Bank of Scotland
Description
One guinea note with a poem by Robert Burns. Twelve lines, signed 'R.B.- Kyle'.
Despite his literary and commercial success, Robert Burns faced financial problems throughout his life. The situation was particularly bleak in the summer 1786 when he seriously considered leaving Scotland to work in Jamaica as a plantation book-keeper. In this poem, written on a Bank of Scotland one guinea note, Robert laments his reliance on money and alludes to his impending departure:
'Wae worth thy pow’r, thou cursed leaf!
Fell source of all my woe and grief!...
For lake o’ thee I leave this much-lov’d shore,
Never perhaps to greet old Scotland more!'
Fell source of all my woe and grief!...
For lake o’ thee I leave this much-lov’d shore,
Never perhaps to greet old Scotland more!'
Archive information
Themes
Hierarchy
-
Robert Burns, collection of poems and songs
(
a sub-fonds is a subdivision in the archival material)
- One guinea note with a poem by Robert Burns