"My Ain Bonnie Lass o' the Glen"
Ae blink o' the bonnie new mune,Ay tinted as sune as she's seen,Wad licht me to Meg frae the toun,Tho' mony the brae-side between:Ae fuff o' the saftest o' win's,As wilyart it kisses the thorn,Wad blaw me o'er knaggies an' linns--To Meg by the side o' the burn!
My daddie's a laird wi' a ha';My mither had kin at the court;I maunna gang wooin' ava'--Or any sic frolicsome sport.Gin I'd wed--there's a winnock kept bye;Wi' bodies an' gear i' her loof--Gin ony tak her an' her kye,Hell glunsh at himsel' for a coof!
My daddie's na doylt, tho' he's auld,The winnock is pawkie an' gleg;When the lammies are pit i' the fauld,They're fear'd that I'm aff to my Meg.My mither sits spinnin'--ae blinkO' a smile in her kind, bonnie 'ee;She's minded o' mony a linkShe, stowlins, took o'er the lea
To meet wi' my daddie himsel'Tentie jinkin' by lea an' by shaw;She fu's up his pipe then hersel',So I may steal cannie awa'.O leeze me o' gowany swaird,An' the blink o' the bonnie new mune!An' the cowt stown out o' the yairdThat trots like a burnie in June!
My Meg she is waitin' abeigh--Ilk spunkie that flits through the fenWad jealously lead me astrayFrae my ain bonnie lass o' the glen!My forbears may groan i' the mools,My daddie look dour an' din;Wee Love is the callant wha rules,An' my Meg is the wifie I'll win!
Words in this poem
- blink v. i.
- To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye. [OE. blenken; akin to dan. blinke, Sw. blinka, G. blinken to shine, glance, wink, twinkle, D. blinken to shine; and prob. to D. blikken to glance, twinkle, G. bl]
- fuff v. t.
- To puff. Halliwel. [Of imitative origin. Cf. Puff.]
- laird n.
- A lord; a landholder, esp. one who holds land directly of the crown. [See Lord.]
- loof n.
- The spongelike fibers of the fruit of a cucurbitaceous plant (Luffa Ægyptiaca); called also vegetable sponge.
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- gleg a.
- Quick of perception; alert; sharp. Jamieson. [Icel. glöggr.]
- fauld n.
- The arch over the dam of a blast furnace; the tymp arch.
- 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.]
- gowany a.
- Having, abounding in, or decked with, daisies.
- burnie n.
- A small brook. Burns. [See 4th Burn.]
- jealously adv.
- In a jealous manner.
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- dour a.
- Hard; inflexible; obstinate; sour in aspect; hardy; bold. [Cf. F. dur, L. durus.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
"My Ain Bonnie Lass o' the Glen" is in the public domain. This text is taken from Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie, and other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #6815; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Isabella Valancy Crawford, "My Ain Bonnie Lass o' the Glen", in Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie and Other Poems (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6815, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crawford-poems/my-ain-bonnie-lass-o-the-glen.html, id L11187.
Form and metre
"My Ain Bonnie Lass o' the Glen" is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
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 ABABC-C- muneA · seenB · tounA · betweenB · win'sC · thorn · linnsC · burn
- 2 -A-A-B-B ha · courtA · ava · sportA · bye · loofB · kye · coofB
- 3 ABABCDCD auldA · glegB · fauldA · megB · blinkC · eeD · linkC · leaD
- 4 A-A-BCBC himselA · shaw · herselA · awa · swairdB · muneC · yairdB · juneC
- 5 ABABCDCD abeighA · fenB · astrayA · glenB · moolsC · dinD · rulesC · winD
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 anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Ae blink o' the bonnie new mune, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Ay tinted as sune as she's seen, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wad licht me to Meg frae the toun, | 8 | ········ |
| Tho' mony the brae-side between: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ae fuff o' the saftest o' win's, | 8 | ········ |
| As wilyart it kisses the thorn, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Wad blaw me o'er knaggies an' linns-- | 7 | ······· |
| To Meg by the side o' the burn! | 8 | ········ |
| My daddie's a laird wi' a ha'; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My mither had kin at the court; | 8 | ········ |
| I maunna gang wooin' ava'-- | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Or any sic frolicsome sport. | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| Gin I'd wed--there's a winnock kept bye; | 9 | ········· |
| Wi' bodies an' gear i' her loof-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Gin ony tak her an' her kye, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Hell glunsh at himsel' for a coof! | 8 | ········ |
| My daddie's na doylt, tho' he's auld, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The winnock is pawkie an' gleg; | 8 | ········ |
| When the lammies are pit i' the fauld, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| They're fear'd that I'm aff to my Meg. | 8 | ········ |
| My mither sits spinnin'--ae blink | 8 | ········ |
| O' a smile in her kind, bonnie 'ee; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| She's minded o' mony a link | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| She, stowlins, took o'er the lea | 7 | ······· |
| To meet wi' my daddie himsel' | 8 | ········ |
| Tentie jinkin' by lea an' by shaw; | 9 | ········· |
| She fu's up his pipe then hersel', | 8 | ········ |
| So I may steal cannie awa'. | 8 | ········ |
| O leeze me o' gowany swaird, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| An' the blink o' the bonnie new mune! | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| An' the cowt stown out o' the yaird | 8 | ········ |
| That trots like a burnie in June! | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| My Meg she is waitin' abeigh-- | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Ilk spunkie that flits through the fen | 8 | ········ |
| Wad jealously lead me astray | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| Frae my ain bonnie lass o' the glen! | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| My forbears may groan i' the mools, | 8 | ········ |
| My daddie look dour an' din; | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Wee Love is the callant wha rules, | 8 | ········ |
| An' my Meg is the wifie I'll win! | 9 | ········· |
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