Farewell Song to the Banks of Ayr
“I composed this song as I conveyed my chest so far on my road toGreenock, where I was to embark in a few days for Jamaica. I meant it as myfarewell dirge to my native land.”—R. B.
The gloomy night is gath’ring fast,Loud roars the wild, inconstant blast,Yon murky cloud is foul with rain,I see it driving o’er the plain;The hunter now has left the moor.The scatt’red coveys meet secure;While here I wander, prest with care,Along the lonely banks of Ayr.
The Autumn mourns her rip’ning cornBy early Winter’s ravage torn;Across her placid, azure sky,She sees the scowling tempest fly:Chill runs my blood to hear it rave;I think upon the stormy wave,Where many a danger I must dare,Far from the bonie banks of Ayr.
’Tis not the surging billow’s roar,’Tis not that fatal, deadly shore;Tho’ death in ev’ry shape appear,The wretched have no more to fear:But round my heart the ties are bound,That heart transpierc’d with many a wound;These bleed afresh, those ties I tear,To leave the bonie banks of Ayr.
Farewell, old Coila’s hills and dales,Her healthy moors and winding vales;The scenes where wretched Fancy roves,Pursuing past, unhappy loves!Farewell, my friends! farewell, my foes!My peace with these, my love with those:The bursting tears my heart declare—Farewell, the bonie banks of Ayr!
Words in this poem
- dirge n.
- A piece of music of a mournful character, to accompany funeral rites; a funeral hymn. [Contraction of Lat. dirige, direct thou (imperative of dirigere), the first word of a funeral hymn (Lat. transl. of Psalm v. 8) beginning, "Dirige, Domine, in c]
- prest a.
- Ready; prompt; prepared. [OF. prest, F. prêt, fr. L. praestus ready. Cf. Presto.]
- placid a.
- Pleased; contented; unruffied; undisturbed; serene; peaceful; tranquil; quiet; gentle. [L. placidus, originally, pleasing, mild, from placere to please: cf. F. placide. See Please.]
- billow n.
- A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
- afresh adv.
- Anew; again; once more; newly. [Pref. a- + fresh.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Farewell Song to the Banks of Ayr 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, Farewell Song to the Banks of Ayr, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/farewell-song-to-the-banks-of-ayr.html, id L03053.
Form and metre
Farewell Song to the Banks of Ayr is 35 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 69% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.7 syllables. 9% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 -AA to · myA · bA
- 2 AABBCC-- fastA · blastA · rainB · plainB · moorC · secureC · care · ayr
- 3 AABBCC-- cornA · tornA · skyB · flyB · raveC · waveC · dare · ayr
- 4 AABBCCB- roarA · shoreA · appearB · fearB · boundC · woundC · tearB · ayr
- 5 AA--BB-- dalesA · valesA · roves · loves · foesB · thoseB · declare · ayr
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “I composed this song as I conveyed my chest so far on my road to | 17 | ·˘/····˘/········ |
| Greenock, where I was to embark in a few days for Jamaica. I meant it as my | 21 | ······˘/·····˘/˘····· |
| farewell dirge to my native land.”—R. B. | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| The gloomy night is gath’ring fast, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Loud roars the wild, inconstant blast, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Yon murky cloud is foul with rain, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I see it driving o’er the plain; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The hunter now has left the moor. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The scatt’red coveys meet secure; | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| While here I wander, prest with care, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Along the lonely banks of Ayr. | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| The Autumn mourns her rip’ning corn | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| By early Winter’s ravage torn; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Across her placid, azure sky, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| She sees the scowling tempest fly: | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Chill runs my blood to hear it rave; | 8 | ········ |
| I think upon the stormy wave, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Where many a danger I must dare, | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| Far from the bonie banks of Ayr. | 8 | ········ |
| ’Tis not the surging billow’s roar, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| ’Tis not that fatal, deadly shore; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Tho’ death in ev’ry shape appear, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The wretched have no more to fear: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But round my heart the ties are bound, | 8 | ········ |
| That heart transpierc’d with many a wound; | 8 | ·····/·· |
| These bleed afresh, those ties I tear, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| To leave the bonie banks of Ayr. | 8 | ········ |
| Farewell, old Coila’s hills and dales, | 8 | ·/······ |
| Her healthy moors and winding vales; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The scenes where wretched Fancy roves, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Pursuing past, unhappy loves! | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Farewell, my friends! farewell, my foes! | 8 | ·/···/·· |
| My peace with these, my love with those: | 8 | ········ |
| The bursting tears my heart declare— | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Farewell, the bonie banks of Ayr! | 8 | ·/······ |
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