Thomas Humphry Ward, ed. The English Poets. 1880–1918.rnVol. III. The Eighteenth Century: Addison to Blake

Robert Burns (1759–1796)

O Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast

TUNE—‘The Lass of Livingstone.’

O, WERT thou in the cauld blast,

On yonder lea, on yonder lea;

My plaidie to the angry airt,

I ’d shelter thee, I ’d shelter thee;

Or did misfortune’s bitter storms

Around thee blaw, around thee blaw,

Thy bield should be my bosom,

To share it a’, to share it a’.

Or were I in the wildest waste,

Sae black and bare, sae black and bare,

The desert were a paradise,

If thou wert there, if thou wert there.

Or were I monarch o’ the globe,

Wi’ thee to reign, wi’ thee to reign,

The brightest jewel in my crown,

Wad be my queen, wad be my queen.