O Wat Ye Wha’s in Yon Town
Chorus—O wat ye wha’s in yon town,Ye see the e’enin sun upon,The dearest maid’s in yon town,That e’ening sun is shining on.
Now haply down yon gay green shaw,She wanders by yon spreading tree;How blest ye flowers that round her blaw,Ye catch the glances o’ her e’e!O wat ye wha’s, &c.
How blest ye birds that round her sing,And welcome in the blooming year;And doubly welcome be the Spring,The season to my Jeanie dear.O wat ye wha’s, &c.
The sun blinks blythe on yon town,Among the broomy braes sae green;But my delight in yon town,And dearest pleasure, is my Jean.O wat ye wha’s, &c.
Without my Fair, not a’ the charmsO’ Paradise could yield me joy;But give me Jeanie in my armsAnd welcome Lapland’s dreary sky!O wat ye wha’s, &c.
My cave wad be a lover’s bower,Tho’ raging Winter rent the air;And she a lovely little flower,That I wad tent and shelter there.O wat ye wha’s, &c.
O sweet is she in yon town,The sinkin, sun’s gane down upon;A fairer than’s in yon town,His setting beam ne’er shone upon.O wat ye wha’s, &c.
If angry Fate is sworn my foe,And suff’ring I am doom’d to bear;I careless quit aught else below,But spare, O spare me Jeanie dear.O wat ye wha’s, &c.
For while life’s dearest blood is warm,Ae thought frae her shall ne’er depart,And she, as fairest is her form,She has the truest, kindest heart.O wat ye wha’s, &c.
Words in this poem
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- 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.]
- broomy a.
- Of or pertaining to broom; overgrowing with broom; resembling broom or a broom.
- dreary a.
- Sorrowful; distressful. [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dreórig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dreósan to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.]
- gane v. i.
- To yawn; to gape. [See Yawn.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
O Wat Ye Wha’s in Yon Town 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, O Wat Ye Wha’s in Yon Town, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/o-wat-ye-wha-s-in-yon-town.html, id L03416.
Form and metre
O Wat Ye Wha’s in Yon Town is 44 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
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 ABAB townA · uponB · townA · onB
- 2 ABAB- shawA · treeB · blawA · e'eB · —
- 3 ABAB- singA · yearB · springA · dearB · —
- 4 ABAB- townA · greenB · townA · jeanB · —
- 5 A-A-- charmsA · joy · armsA · sky · —
- 6 ABAB- bowerA · airB · flowerA · thereB · —
- 7 ABAB- townA · uponB · townA · uponB · —
- 8 ABAB- foeA · bearB · belowA · dearB · —
- 9 ABAB- warmA · departB · formA · heartB · —
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Chorus—O wat ye wha’s in yon town, | 9 | /˘······· |
| Ye see the e’enin sun upon, | 8 | ········ |
| The dearest maid’s in yon town, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| That e’ening sun is shining on. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Now haply down yon gay green shaw, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| She wanders by yon spreading tree; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| How blest ye flowers that round her blaw, | 8 | ···/···· |
| Ye catch the glances o’ her e’e! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O wat ye wha’s, &c. | 5 | ····· |
| How blest ye birds that round her sing, | 8 | ········ |
| And welcome in the blooming year; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And doubly welcome be the Spring, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The season to my Jeanie dear. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| O wat ye wha’s, &c. | 5 | ····· |
| The sun blinks blythe on yon town, | 7 | ······· |
| Among the broomy braes sae green; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But my delight in yon town, | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| And dearest pleasure, is my Jean. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| O wat ye wha’s, &c. | 5 | ····· |
| Without my Fair, not a’ the charms | 8 | ········ |
| O’ Paradise could yield me joy; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But give me Jeanie in my arms | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And welcome Lapland’s dreary sky! | 8 | ·/˘/·/˘· |
| O wat ye wha’s, &c. | 5 | ····· |
| My cave wad be a lover’s bower, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Tho’ raging Winter rent the air; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And she a lovely little flower, | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| That I wad tent and shelter there. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O wat ye wha’s, &c. | 5 | ····· |
| O sweet is she in yon town, | 7 | ······· |
| The sinkin, sun’s gane down upon; | 8 | ········ |
| A fairer than’s in yon town, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| His setting beam ne’er shone upon. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| O wat ye wha’s, &c. | 5 | ····· |
| If angry Fate is sworn my foe, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And suff’ring I am doom’d to bear; | 8 | ········ |
| I careless quit aught else below, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But spare, O spare me Jeanie dear. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O wat ye wha’s, &c. | 5 | ····· |
| For while life’s dearest blood is warm, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ae thought frae her shall ne’er depart, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And she, as fairest is her form, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| She has the truest, kindest heart. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| O wat ye wha’s, &c. | 5 | ····· |
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