O Lassie Ayont the Hill!
O lassie ayont the hill,Come ower the tap o' the hill,Come ower the tap wi' the breeze o' the hill,Bidena ayont the hill!I'm needin ye sair the nicht,For I'm tired and sick o' mysel.A body's sel 's the sairest weicht:O lassie, come ower the hill!
Gien a body could be a thoucht o' grace,And no a sel ava!I'm sick o' my heid and my ban's and my face,O' my thouchts and mysel and a';
I'm sick o' the warl' and a';The win' gangs by wi' a hiss;Throu my starin een the sunbeams fa'But my weary hert they miss!O lassie ayont the hill,Come ower the tap o' the hill,Come ower the tap wi' the breeze o' the hill,Bidena ayont the hill! &c.
For gien I but saw yer bonnie heid,And the sunlicht o' yer hair,The ghaist o' mysel wud fa' doun deid,I wud be mysel nae mair.I wud be mysel nae mair,Filled o' the sole remeid,Slain by the arrows o' licht frae yer hair,Killed by yer body and heid!O lassie ayont the hill, &c.
My sel micht wauk up at the saft fitfa'O' my bonnie departin dame;But gien she lo'ed me ever sae sma'I micht bide it--the weary same!Noo, sick o' my body and nameWhan it lifts its upsettin heid,I turn frae the cla'es that cover my frameAs gien they war roun the deid.O lassie ayont the hill, &c.
But gien ye lo'ed me as I lo'e youI wud ring my ain deid knell;The spectre wud melt, shot through and throughWi' the shine o' your sunny sel!By the shine o' yer sunny sel,By the licht aneth yer brooI wud dee to mysel, ring my ain deid-bell,And live again in you!
O lassie ayont the hill,Come ower the tap o' the hill,Come ower the tap wi' the breeze o' the hill,For I want ye sair the nicht!I'm needin ye sair the nicht,For I'm tired and sick o' mysel.A body's sel 's the sairest weicht:O lassie, come ower the hill!
Words in this poem
- lassie n.
- A young girl; a lass.
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- roun v. i.
- To whisper. [obs.] Gower. [AS. r, fr. r a rune, secret, mystery; akin to G. raunen to whisper. See Rune.]
- spectre n.
- Something preternaturally visible; an apparition; a ghost; a phantom. [F. spectre, fr. L. spectrum an appearance, image, specter, fr. specere to look. See Spy, and cf. Spectrum.]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
O Lassie Ayont the Hill! is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George MacDonald, O Lassie Ayont the Hill!, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/o-lassie-ayont-the-hill.html, id L22529.
Form and metre
O Lassie Ayont the Hill! is 54 lines in 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%).
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 AAAA---A hillA · hillA · hillA · hillA · nicht · mysel · weicht · hillA
- 2 A-A- graceA · ava · faceA · a
- 3 -A-ABBB- a · hissA · fa · missA · hillB · hillB · hillB · —
- 4 ABABBABA- heidA · hairB · deidA · mairB · mairB · remeidA · hairB · heidA · —
- 5 -A-AABAB- fitfa · dameA · sma · sameA · nameA · heidB · frameA · deidB · —
- 6 ABABB-BA youA · knellB · throughA · selB · selB · broo · bellB · youA
- 7 AAABB--A hillA · hillA · hillA · nichtB · nichtB · mysel · weicht · hillA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O lassie ayont the hill, | 7 | ·/˘˘/·· |
| Come ower the tap o' the hill, | 8 | ········ |
| Come ower the tap wi' the breeze o' the hill, | 11 | ··········· |
| Bidena ayont the hill! | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| I'm needin ye sair the nicht, | 7 | ······· |
| For I'm tired and sick o' mysel. | 10 | ··/˘˘····· |
| A body's sel 's the sairest weicht: | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| O lassie, come ower the hill! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Gien a body could be a thoucht o' grace, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| And no a sel ava! | 6 | ····/˘ |
| I'm sick o' my heid and my ban's and my face, | 11 | ··········· |
| O' my thouchts and mysel and a'; | 8 | ········ |
| I'm sick o' the warl' and a'; | 7 | ······· |
| The win' gangs by wi' a hiss; | 7 | ······· |
| Throu my starin een the sunbeams fa' | 9 | ··/˘··/·· |
| But my weary hert they miss! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| O lassie ayont the hill, | 7 | ·/˘˘/·· |
| Come ower the tap o' the hill, | 8 | ········ |
| Come ower the tap wi' the breeze o' the hill, | 11 | ··········· |
| Bidena ayont the hill! &c. | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| For gien I but saw yer bonnie heid, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And the sunlicht o' yer hair, | 7 | ······· |
| The ghaist o' mysel wud fa' doun deid, | 9 | ········· |
| I wud be mysel nae mair. | 7 | ······· |
| I wud be mysel nae mair, | 7 | ······· |
| Filled o' the sole remeid, | 6 | ······ |
| Slain by the arrows o' licht frae yer hair, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Killed by yer body and heid! | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| O lassie ayont the hill, &c. | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| My sel micht wauk up at the saft fitfa' | 10 | ·········· |
| O' my bonnie departin dame; | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| But gien she lo'ed me ever sae sma' | 10 | ····˘·/˘·· |
| I micht bide it--the weary same! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Noo, sick o' my body and name | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Whan it lifts its upsettin heid, | 8 | ········ |
| I turn frae the cla'es that cover my frame | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| As gien they war roun the deid. | 7 | ······· |
| O lassie ayont the hill, &c. | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| But gien ye lo'ed me as I lo'e you | 10 | ····˘····· |
| I wud ring my ain deid knell; | 7 | ······· |
| The spectre wud melt, shot through and through | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Wi' the shine o' your sunny sel! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By the shine o' yer sunny sel, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By the licht aneth yer broo | 7 | ······· |
| I wud dee to mysel, ring my ain deid-bell, | 11 | ··········· |
| And live again in you! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| O lassie ayont the hill, | 7 | ·/˘˘/·· |
| Come ower the tap o' the hill, | 8 | ········ |
| Come ower the tap wi' the breeze o' the hill, | 11 | ··········· |
| For I want ye sair the nicht! | 7 | ······· |
| I'm needin ye sair the nicht, | 7 | ······· |
| For I'm tired and sick o' mysel. | 10 | ··/˘˘····· |
| A body's sel 's the sairest weicht: | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| O lassie, come ower the hill! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.