Burlesque Lament for the Absence of William Creech, Publisher
Auld chuckie Reekie’s sair distrest,Down droops her ance weel burnish’d crest,Nae joy her bonie buskit nestCan yield ava,Her darling bird that she lo’es best—Willie’s awa!
O Willie was a witty wight,And had o’ things an unco’ sleight,Auld Reekie aye he keepit tight,And trig an’ braw:But now they’ll busk her like a fright,—Willie’s awa!
The stiffest o’ them a’ he bow’d,The bauldest o’ them a’ he cow’d;They durst nae mair than he allow’d,That was a law:We’ve lost a birkie weel worth gowd;Willie’s awa!
Now gawkies, tawpies, gowks and fools,Frae colleges and boarding schools,May sprout like simmer puddock-stoolsIn glen or shaw;He wha could brush them down to mools—Willie’s awa!
The brethren o’ the Commerce-chaumerMay mourn their loss wi’ doolfu’ clamour;He was a dictionar and grammarAmong them a’;I fear they’ll now mak mony a stammer;Willie’s awa!
Nae mair we see his levee doorPhilosophers and poets pour,And toothy critics by the score,In bloody raw!The adjutant o’ a’ the core—Willie’s awa!
Now worthy Gregory’s Latin face,Tytler’s and Greenfield’s modest grace;Mackenzie, Stewart, such a braceAs Rome ne’er saw;They a’ maun meet some ither place,Willie’s awa!
Poor Burns ev’n Scotch Drink canna quicken,He cheeps like some bewilder’d chickenScar’d frae it’s minnie and the cleckin,By hoodie-craw;Grieg’s gien his heart an unco kickin,Willie’s awa!
Now ev’ry sour-mou’d girnin blellum,And Calvin’s folk, are fit to fell him;Ilk self-conceited critic skellumHis quill may draw;He wha could brawlie ward their bellum—Willie’s awa!
Up wimpling stately Tweed I’ve sped,And Eden scenes on crystal Jed,And Ettrick banks, now roaring red,While tempests blaw;But every joy and pleasure’s fled,Willie’s awa!
May I be Slander’s common speech;A text for Infamy to preach;And lastly, streekit out to bleachIn winter snaw;When I forget thee, Willie Creech,Tho’ far awa!
May never wicked Fortune touzle him!May never wicked men bamboozle him!Until a pow as auld’s MethusalemHe canty claw!Then to the blessed new Jerusalem,Fleet wing awa!
Words in this poem 25
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- weel
- A kind of trap or snare for fish, made of twigs. Carew. [Prov. E. weel, weal, a wicker basket to catch eels; prob. akin to willow, and so called as made of willow twigs.]
- witty a.
- Possessed of wit; knowing; wise; skillful; judicious; clever; cunning. [AS. witig, wittig. See Wit, n.]
- wight n.
- A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
- unco a.
- Unknown; strange, or foreign; unusual, or surprising; distant in manner; reserved. [Scot. The same word as E. uncouth.]
- sleight n.
- Cunning; craft; artful practice. [OE. sleighte, sleihte, sleithe, Icel. sl (for sl) slyness, cunning, fr. sl (for sl) sly, cunning. See Sly.]
- trig v. t.
- To fill; to stuff; to cram. Dr. H. More. [Cf. Dan. trykke to press, Sw. trycka.]
- braw a.
- Well-dressed; handsome; smart; brave; -- used of persons or their clothing, etc.; as, a braw lad.
- busk n.
- A thin, elastic strip of metal, whalebone, wood, or other material, worn in the front of a corset. [F. busc, perh. fr. the hypothetical older form of E. bois wood, because the first busks were made of wood. See Bush, and cf. OF. busche, F. bûche, a piece or lo]
- birkie n.
- A lively or mettlesome fellow. [Jocular, Scot.] Burns.
- simmer v. i.
- To boil gently, or with a gentle hissing; to begin to boil. [Prov. E. also simper; -- an onomatopoetic word.]
- shaw n.
- A thicket; a small wood or grove. [Obs. or Prov.Eng. & Scot.] [OE. schawe, scha, thicket, grove, AS. scaga; akin to Dan. skov, Sw. skog, Icel. sk.]
- clamour n.
- A great outcry or vociferation; loud and continued shouting or exclamation. [OF. clamour, clamur, F. clameur, fr. L. clamor, fr. clamare to cry out. See Claim.]
- levee n.
- The act of rising. [F. lever, fr. lever to raise, se lever to rise. See Lever, n.]
- toothy a.
- Toothed; with teeth. Croxall.
- adjutant n.
- A helper; an assistant. [L. adjutans, p. pr. of adjutare to help. See Aid.]
- canna n.
- A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet. [It.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- conceited a.
- Endowed with fancy or imagination.
- skellum n.
- A scoundrel. Pepys. Burns. [Dan. schelm, fr. G. schelm.]
- tweed n.
- A soft and flexible fabric for men's wear, made wholly of wool except in some inferior kinds, the wool being dyed, usually in two colors, before weaving. [Probably a corruption of twills. See Twill.]
- eden n.
- The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
- lastly adv.
- In the last place; in conclusion.
- bamboozle v. t.
- To deceive by trickery; to cajole by confusing the senses; to hoax; to mystify; to humbug. [Said to be of Gipsy origin.]
- canty a.
- Cheerful; sprightly; lively; merry.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Burlesque Lament for the Absence of William Creech, Publisher is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, Project Gutenberg ebook #1279; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Burns, Burlesque Lament for the Absence of William Creech, Publisher, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/burlesque-lament-for-the-absence-of-william-creech-publisher.html, id L03085.
Form and metre
Burlesque Lament for the Absence of William Creech, Publisher is 72 lines in 12 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.9 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AAA-A- distrestA · crestA · nestA · ava · bestA · awa
- 2 AAA-A- wightA · sleightA · tightA · braw · frightA · awa
- 3 AAA-A- bow'dA · cow'dA · allow'dA · law · gowdA · awa
- 4 AAA-A- foolsA · schoolsA · stoolsA · shaw · moolsA · awa
- 5 -AA-A- chaumer · clamourA · grammarA · a · stammerA · awa
- 6 AAA-A- doorA · pourA · scoreA · raw · coreA · awa
- 7 AAA-A- faceA · graceA · braceA · saw · placeA · awa
- 8 AAB-B- quickenA · chickenA · cleckinB · craw · kickinB · awa
- 9 AAA-A- blellumA · himA · skellumA · draw · bellumA · awa
- 10 AAA-A- spedA · jedA · redA · blaw · fledA · awa
- 11 AAA-A- speechA · preachA · bleachA · snaw · creechA · awa
- 12 AAB-B- himA · himA · methusalemB · claw · jerusalemB · awa
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Auld chuckie Reekie’s sair distrest, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Down droops her ance weel burnish’d crest, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nae joy her bonie buskit nest | 8 | ········ |
| Can yield ava, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Her darling bird that she lo’es best— | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Willie’s awa! | 4 | /˘·· |
| O Willie was a witty wight, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And had o’ things an unco’ sleight, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Auld Reekie aye he keepit tight, | 8 | ········ |
| And trig an’ braw: | 4 | ···· |
| But now they’ll busk her like a fright,— | 8 | ········ |
| Willie’s awa! | 4 | /˘·· |
| The stiffest o’ them a’ he bow’d, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The bauldest o’ them a’ he cow’d; | 8 | ········ |
| They durst nae mair than he allow’d, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| That was a law: | 4 | ···· |
| We’ve lost a birkie weel worth gowd; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Willie’s awa! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Now gawkies, tawpies, gowks and fools, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Frae colleges and boarding schools, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| May sprout like simmer puddock-stools | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| In glen or shaw; | 4 | ···· |
| He wha could brush them down to mools— | 8 | ········ |
| Willie’s awa! | 4 | /˘·· |
| The brethren o’ the Commerce-chaumer | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| May mourn their loss wi’ doolfu’ clamour; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| He was a dictionar and grammar | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Among them a’; | 4 | ···· |
| I fear they’ll now mak mony a stammer; | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| Willie’s awa! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Nae mair we see his levee door | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Philosophers and poets pour, | 8 | ˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| And toothy critics by the score, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| In bloody raw! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The adjutant o’ a’ the core— | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Willie’s awa! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Now worthy Gregory’s Latin face, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Tytler’s and Greenfield’s modest grace; | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Mackenzie, Stewart, such a brace | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| As Rome ne’er saw; | 4 | ···· |
| They a’ maun meet some ither place, | 8 | ········ |
| Willie’s awa! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Poor Burns ev’n Scotch Drink canna quicken, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| He cheeps like some bewilder’d chicken | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Scar’d frae it’s minnie and the cleckin, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| By hoodie-craw; | 4 | ···· |
| Grieg’s gien his heart an unco kickin, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Willie’s awa! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Now ev’ry sour-mou’d girnin blellum, | 9 | ···/····· |
| And Calvin’s folk, are fit to fell him; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Ilk self-conceited critic skellum | 9 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| His quill may draw; | 4 | ···· |
| He wha could brawlie ward their bellum— | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Willie’s awa! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Up wimpling stately Tweed I’ve sped, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And Eden scenes on crystal Jed, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And Ettrick banks, now roaring red, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| While tempests blaw; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| But every joy and pleasure’s fled, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Willie’s awa! | 4 | /˘·· |
| May I be Slander’s common speech; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A text for Infamy to preach; | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| And lastly, streekit out to bleach | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In winter snaw; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| When I forget thee, Willie Creech, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Tho’ far awa! | 4 | ···· |
| May never wicked Fortune touzle him! | 9 | ·//˘/˘··· |
| May never wicked men bamboozle him! | 9 | ·//˘·˘/˘· |
| Until a pow as auld’s Methusalem | 10 | ·········· |
| He canty claw! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Then to the blessed new Jerusalem, | 9 | ·····˘/˘˘ |
| Fleet wing awa! | 4 | ···· |
Notes from the edition 1
Notes from The Complete Works of Robert Burns (Project Gutenberg #1279).
- Stanza 1, line 1 Natural daughter of Prince Charles Edward.
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