Lament of Mary Queen of Scots on the Approach of Spring
4
I was the Queen o' bonie France,
Where happy I hae been;
Fu' lightly rose I on the morn,
As blythe lay down at e'en:
And I'm the Sovereign of Scotland
And mony a traitor there;
Yet here I lie in foreign bands
And never-ending care. -
5.
But as for thee thou false woman,
My Sister & my fae;
Grim Vengeance yet shall whet a sword
That through thy soul shall gae:
The weeping blood in woman's breast
Thy breast did never know,
Nor th' balm that drops from woman's een
To heal the wounds of woe:
The weeping blood in woman's breast
Is quite unknown to thee;
And th' balm that draps on wounds of woe
Frae woman's pitying e'e.-
_________________
My son, my son may kinder stars
Upon thy fortune shine;
And may those pleasures gild thy reign,
That ne'er would blink on mine!
God keep thee frae thy Mother's faes,
Or turn their hearts to thee;
And where thou meet'st thy mother's friend,
Remember him for me.-
I was the Queen o' bonie France,
Where happy I hae been;
Fu' lightly rose I on the morn,
As blythe lay down at e'en:
And I'm the Sovereign of Scotland
And mony a traitor there;
Yet here I lie in foreign bands
And never-ending care. -
5.
But as for thee thou false woman,
My Sister & my fae;
Grim Vengeance yet shall whet a sword
That through thy soul shall gae:
The weeping blood in woman's breast
Thy breast did never know,
Nor th' balm that drops from woman's een
To heal the wounds of woe:
The weeping blood in woman's breast
Is quite unknown to thee;
And th' balm that draps on wounds of woe
Frae woman's pitying e'e.-
_________________
My son, my son may kinder stars
Upon thy fortune shine;
And may those pleasures gild thy reign,
That ne'er would blink on mine!
God keep thee frae thy Mother's faes,
Or turn their hearts to thee;
And where thou meet'st thy mother's friend,
Remember him for me.-
![](https://ciim-data.nts.org.uk/media/iiif/3/pf%2F2%2F1%2F40%2F583%2FNTSBRNp07723.ptif/full/!640,640/0/default.jpg)
Key details
- Archive number
- NTS/02/25/BRN/02/133
- Alt. number
- 3.6299
- Date
- June 1790
- On display
- No
- Creator
- Burns, Robert (Author)
- Archive number
- NTS/02/25/BRN/02/133
- Alt. number
- 3.6299
- Date
- June 1790
- On display
- No
- Creator
- Burns, Robert (Author)
Description
Lament of Mary Queen of Scots on the Approach of Spring.
Begins: "Now Nature hangs her mantle green". The first three verses are missing; this copy begins with the line "I was the Queen o Bonie France".
.
Archive information
Themes
Hierarchy
-
Robert Burns, collection of poems and songs
(
a sub-fonds is a subdivision in the archival material)
- Lament of Mary Queen of Scots on the Approach of Spring