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Poems and Songs of Robert Burns

Chapter 455: My Spouse Nancy
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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.

My Spouse Nancy

Tune—“My Jo Janet.”
“Husband, husband, cease your strife, Nor longer idly rave, Sir; Tho’ I am your wedded wife Yet I am not your slave, Sir.” “One of two must still obey, Nancy, Nancy; Is it Man or Woman, say, My spouse Nancy?’ “If ’tis still the lordly word, Service and obedience; I’ll desert my sov’reign lord, And so, good bye, allegiance!” “Sad shall I be, so bereft, Nancy, Nancy; Yet I’ll try to make a shift, My spouse Nancy.” “My poor heart, then break it must, My last hour I am near it: When you lay me in the dust, Think how you will bear it.” “I will hope and trust in Heaven, Nancy, Nancy; Strength to bear it will be given, My spouse Nancy.” “Well, Sir, from the silent dead, Still I’ll try to daunt you; Ever round your midnight bed Horrid sprites shall haunt you!” “I’ll wed another like my dear Nancy, Nancy; Then all hell will fly for fear, My spouse Nancy.”