The Bonny, Bonny Dell
Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the yorlin sings,Wi' a clip o' the sunshine atween his wings;Whaur the birks are a' straikit wi' fair munelicht,And the brume hings its lamps by day and by nicht;Whaur the burnie comes trottin ower shingle and staneLiltin bonny havers til 'tsel its lane;And the sliddery troot wi' ae soop o' its tailIs ahint the green weed's dark swingin veil!Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur I sang as I sawThe yorlin, the brume, and the burnie, and a'!
Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the primroses won,Luikin oot o' their leaves like wee sons o' the sun;Whaur the wild roses hing like flickers o' flame,And fa' at the touch wi' a dainty shame;Whaur the bee swings ower the white-clovery sod,And the butterfly flits like a stray thoucht o' God;Whaur, like arrow shot frae life's unseen bow,The dragon-fly burns the sunlicht throu!Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur I sang to seeThe rose and the primrose, the draigon and bee!
Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the mune luiks doonAs gien she war hearin a soughless tune,Whan the flooers and the birdies are a' asleep,And the verra burnie gangs creepy-creep;Whaur the corn-craik craiks i' the lang-heidit rye,And the nicht is the safter for his rouch cry;Whaur the win' wud fain lie doon on the slope,And the gloamin waukens the high-reachin hope!Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur, silent, I feltThe mune and the darkness baith into me melt!
Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the sun luiks inSayin, "Here awa, there awa, hand awa, Sin!"Sayin darkness and sorrow a' work for the licht,And the will o' God was the hert o' the nicht;Whaur the laverock hings hie, on his ain sang borne,Wi' bird-shout and tirralee hailin the morn;Whaur my hert ran ower wi' the lusome blissThat, come winter, come weather, nocht gaed amiss!Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the sun luikit inSayin, "Here awa, there awa, hand awa, Sin!"
Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur aft I wud lie,Wi' Jeanie aside me sae sweet and sae shy;Whaur the starry gowans wi' rose-dippit tipsWar as white as her cheek and as reid as her lips;Whaur she spread her gowd hert till she saw that I saw,Syne fauldit it up and gied me it a';Whaur o' sunlicht and munelicht she was the queen,For baith war but middlin withoot my Jean!Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur aft I wud lie,Wi' Jeanie aside me sae sweet and sae shy!
Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the kirkyard liesA' day and a' nicht luikin up to the skies;Whaur the sheep wauken up i' the simmer nicht,Tak a bite and lie doon, and await the licht;Whaur the psalms roll ower the grassy heaps;Whaur the win' comes and moans, and the rain comes and weeps;Whaur my Jeanie's no lyin in a' the lair,For she's up and awa up the angels' stair!Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the kirkyard lies,Whaur the stars luik doon, and the nicht-wind sighs!
Words in this poem 17
- bonny a.
- Handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful. [OE. boni, prob. fr. F. bon, fem. bonne, good, fr. L. bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Bonus, Boon.]
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- atween adv.
- Between. Spenser. [See Atwain, and cf. Between.]
- brume n.
- Mist; fog; vapors. [F. brume winter season, mist, L. bruma winter.]
- burnie n.
- A small brook. Burns. [See 4th Burn.]
- shingle n.
- Round, water-worn, and loose gravel and pebbles, or a collection of roundish stones, such as are common on the seashore and elsewhere. [Prob. from Norw. singl, singling, coarse gravel, small round stones.]
- dainty n.
- Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- laverock n.
- The lark. [Old Eng. & Scot.] Gower. [See Lark the bird.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- syne adv.
- Afterwards; since; ago. R. of Brunne. [See Since.]
- simmer v. i.
- To boil gently, or with a gentle hissing; to begin to boil. [Prov. E. also simper; -- an onomatopoetic word.]
- await v. t.
- To watch for; to look out for. [OF. awaitier, agaitier; (L. ad) + waitier, gaitier to watch, F. guetter. See Wait.]
- lair n.
- A place in which to lie or rest; especially, the bed or couch of a wild beast. [OE. leir, AS. leger; akin to D. leger, G. lager couch, lair, OHG. laga, Goth. ligrs, and to E. lie. See Lie to be prostrate, and cf. Layer, Leaguer.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Bonny, Bonny Dell 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, The Bonny, Bonny Dell, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/the-bonny-bonny-dell.html, id L22530.
Form and metre
The Bonny, Bonny Dell is 60 lines in 6 stanzas of 10 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 90% of the lines. The metre is trochaic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 71%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic hexameter.
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 AABBCCDD-- singsA · wingsA · munelichtB · nichtB · staneC · laneC · tailD · veilD · saw · a
- 2 AABBCC--DD wonA · sunA · flameB · shameB · sodC · godC · bow · throu · seeD · beeD
- 3 AABBCCDDEE doonA · tuneA · asleepB · creepB · ryeC · cryC · slopeD · hopeD · feltE · meltE
- 4 AABBCCDDAA inA · sinA · lichtB · nichtB · borneC · mornC · blissD · amissD · inA · sinA
- 5 AABB--CCAA lieA · shyA · tipsB · lipsB · saw · a · queenC · jeanC · lieA · shyA
- 6 AABBCCDDAA liesA · skiesA · nichtB · lichtB · heapsC · weepsC · lairD · stairD · liesA · sighsA
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 trochaic hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the yorlin sings, | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| Wi' a clip o' the sunshine atween his wings; | 11 | ·····/·˘/·· |
| Whaur the birks are a' straikit wi' fair munelicht, | 12 | ············ |
| And the brume hings its lamps by day and by nicht; | 11 | ··········· |
| Whaur the burnie comes trottin ower shingle and stane | 13 | ··/˘·····/˘·· |
| Liltin bonny havers til 'tsel its lane; | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| And the sliddery troot wi' ae soop o' its tail | 12 | ············ |
| Is ahint the green weed's dark swingin veil! | 10 | ·········· |
| Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur I sang as I saw | 13 | ··/˘/˘······· |
| The yorlin, the brume, and the burnie, and a'! | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the primroses won, | 13 | ··/˘/˘···/·˘· |
| Luikin oot o' their leaves like wee sons o' the sun; | 12 | ············ |
| Whaur the wild roses hing like flickers o' flame, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘·· |
| And fa' at the touch wi' a dainty shame; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Whaur the bee swings ower the white-clovery sod, | 12 | ············ |
| And the butterfly flits like a stray thoucht o' God; | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| Whaur, like arrow shot frae life's unseen bow, | 10 | ··/˘···˘/· |
| The dragon-fly burns the sunlicht throu! | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur I sang to see | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| The rose and the primrose, the draigon and bee! | 11 | ····/······ |
| Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the mune luiks doon | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| As gien she war hearin a soughless tune, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Whan the flooers and the birdies are a' asleep, | 11 | ·····/˘··˘/ |
| And the verra burnie gangs creepy-creep; | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| Whaur the corn-craik craiks i' the lang-heidit rye, | 11 | ··········· |
| And the nicht is the safter for his rouch cry; | 11 | ··········· |
| Whaur the win' wud fain lie doon on the slope, | 10 | ·········· |
| And the gloamin waukens the high-reachin hope! | 11 | ··········· |
| Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur, silent, I felt | 12 | ··/˘/˘··/˘·· |
| The mune and the darkness baith into me melt! | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the sun luiks in | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| Sayin, "Here awa, there awa, hand awa, Sin!" | 11 | ··········· |
| Sayin darkness and sorrow a' work for the licht, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| And the will o' God was the hert o' the nicht; | 11 | ··········· |
| Whaur the laverock hings hie, on his ain sang borne, | 12 | ··/˘˘······· |
| Wi' bird-shout and tirralee hailin the morn; | 11 | ··········· |
| Whaur my hert ran ower wi' the lusome bliss | 11 | ··········· |
| That, come winter, come weather, nocht gaed amiss! | 11 | ··/˘·/˘··˘/ |
| Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the sun luikit in | 13 | ··/˘/˘······· |
| Sayin, "Here awa, there awa, hand awa, Sin!" | 11 | ··········· |
| Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur aft I wud lie, | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| Wi' Jeanie aside me sae sweet and sae shy; | 11 | ·/˘˘/······ |
| Whaur the starry gowans wi' rose-dippit tips | 11 | ··/˘/˘····· |
| War as white as her cheek and as reid as her lips; | 12 | ············ |
| Whaur she spread her gowd hert till she saw that I saw, | 12 | ············ |
| Syne fauldit it up and gied me it a'; | 10 | ·········· |
| Whaur o' sunlicht and munelicht she was the queen, | 12 | ············ |
| For baith war but middlin withoot my Jean! | 10 | ·········· |
| Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur aft I wud lie, | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| Wi' Jeanie aside me sae sweet and sae shy! | 11 | ·/˘˘/······ |
| Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the kirkyard lies | 12 | ··/˘/˘···/˘· |
| A' day and a' nicht luikin up to the skies; | 11 | ··········· |
| Whaur the sheep wauken up i' the simmer nicht, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Tak a bite and lie doon, and await the licht; | 11 | ·······˘/·· |
| Whaur the psalms roll ower the grassy heaps; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Whaur the win' comes and moans, and the rain comes and weeps; | 12 | ············ |
| Whaur my Jeanie's no lyin in a' the lair, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| For she's up and awa up the angels' stair! | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Oh, the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the kirkyard lies, | 12 | ··/˘/˘···/˘· |
| Whaur the stars luik doon, and the nicht-wind sighs! | 10 | ·········· |
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