Poems and Songs of Robert Burns

Chapter 378: I do Confess Thou Art Sae Fair

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About This Book

The collection assembles lyrical songs, narrative poems, satirical pieces, epistles, epitaphs, and fragments that shift between convivial drinking verses, tender laments, and comic storytelling. Many lyrics were shaped to traditional airs and preserve vernacular speech, while longer works portray rural labor, domestic scenes, and compassionate encounters with animals. Satire targets religious hypocrisy and social pretension, and several poems take a direct, personal tone of moral reflection or affectionate address. The selections alternate moods and forms, emphasizing melodic phrasing and a versatile technical range.

I do Confess Thou Art Sae Fair

Alteration of an Old Poem.

I Do confess thou art sae fair, I was been o’er the lugs in luve, Had I na found the slightest prayer That lips could speak thy heart could muve. I do confess thee sweet, but find Thou art so thriftless o’ thy sweets, Thy favours are the silly wind That kisses ilka thing it meets. See yonder rosebud, rich in dew, Amang its native briers sae coy; How sune it tines its scent and hue, When pu’d and worn a common toy. Sic fate ere lang shall thee betide, Tho’ thou may gaily bloom awhile; And sune thou shalt be thrown aside, Like ony common weed and vile.