HALLOWEEN Robert Burns Upon that night, when fairies light On Cassilis Downans dance, Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze, On sprightly coursers prance; Or for Colean the route is taen, Beneath the moons pale beams; There, up the cove, to stray and rove, Among the rocks and streams To sport that night. Among the bonny winding banks, Where Doon rins, wimplin clear, Where Bruce ance ruled the martial ranks, And shook his Carrick spear, Some merry, friendly, country-folks, Together did convene, To burn their nits, and pou their stocks, And haud their Halloween Fu blithe that night. The lasses feat, and cleanly neat, Mair braw than when theyre fine; Their faces blithe, fu sweetly kythe, Hearts leal, and warm, and kin; The lads sae trig, wi wooer-babs, Weel knotted on their garten, Some unco blate, and some wi gabs, Gar lasses hearts gang startin Whiles fast at night. Then, first and foremost, through the kail, Their stocks maun a be sought ance; They steek their een, and graip and wale, For muckle anes and straught anes. Poor havrel Will fell aff the drift, And wanderd through the bow-kail, And pout, for want o better shift, A runt was like a sow-tail, Sae bowt that night. Then, staught or crooked, yird or nane, They roar and cry a throuther; The very wee things, todlin, rin, Wi stocks out owre their shouther; And gif the custocs sweet or sour. Wi joctelegs they taste them; Syne cozily, aboon the door, Wi cannie care, theyve placed them To lie that night. The lasses staw frae mang them a To pou their stalks of corn: But Rab slips out, and jinks about, Behint the muckle thorn: He grippet Nelly hard and fast; Loud skirld a the lasses; But her tap-pickle maist was lost, When kitlin in the fause-house Wi him that night. The auld guidwifes well-hoordit nits, Are round and round divided, And monie lads and lasses fates Are there that night decided: Some kindle coothie, side by side, And burn thegither trimly; Some start awa, wi saucy pride, And jump out-owre the chimlie Fu high that night. Jean slips in twa wi tentie ee; Wha twas she wadna tell; But this is Jock, and this is me, She says in to hersel: He bleezed owre her, and she owre him, As they wad never mair part; Till, fuff! he started up the lum, And Jean had een a sair heart To seet that night. Poor Willie, wi his bow-kail runt, Was brunt wi primsie Mallie; And Mallie, nae doubt, took the drunt, To be compared to Willie; Malls nit lap out wi pridefu fling, And her ain fit it brunt it; While Willie lap, and swore by jing, Twas just the way he wanted To be that night. Nell had the fause-house in her min, She pits hersel and Rob in; In loving bleeze they sweetly join, Till white in ase theyre sobbin; Nells heart was dancin at the view, She whisperd Rob to leuk fort: Rob, stowlins, pried her bonny mou, Fu cozie in the neuk fort, Unseen that night. But Merran sat behint their backs, Her thoughts on Andrew Bell; She leaes them gashin at their cracks, And slips out by hersel: She through the yard the nearest taks, And to the kiln goes then, And darklins graipit for the bauks, And in the blue-clue throws then, Right feart that night. And aye she wint, and aye she swat, I wat she made nae jaukin, Till something held within the pat, Guid Lord! but she was quakin! But whether was the deil himsel, Or whether twas a bauk-en, Or whether it was Andrew Bell, She didna wait on talkin To spier that night. Wee Jennie to her grannie says, Will ye go wi me, grannie? Ill eat the apple at the glass I gat frae Uncle Johnnie: She fufft her pipe wi sic a lunt, In wrath she was sae vaprin, She noticet na, an aizle brunt Her braw new worset apron Out through that night. Ye little skelpie-limmers face! I daur you try sic sportin, As seek the foul thief ony place, For him to spae your fortune. Nae doubt but ye may get a sight! Great cause ye hae to fear it; For mony a ane has gotten a fright, And lived and died deleeret On sic a night. Ae hairst afore the Sherramoor, -- I mindt as weels yestreen, I was a gilpey then, Im sure I wasna past fifteen; The simmer had been cauld and wat, And stuff was unco green; And aye a rantin kirn we gat, And just on Halloween It fell that night. Our stibble-rig was Rab MGraen, A clever sturdy fallow: His son gat Eppie Sim wi wean, That lived in Achmacalla: He gat hemp-seed, I mind it weel, And he made unco light ot; But mony a day was by himsel, He was sae sairly frighted That very night. Then up gat fechtin Jamie Fleck, And he swore by his conscience, That he could saw hemp-seed a peck; For it was a but nonsense. The auld guidman raught down the pock, And out a hanfu gied him; Syne bade him slip frae mang the folk, Some time when nae ane seed him, And tryt that night. He marches through amang the stacks, Though he was something sturtin; The graip he for a harrow taks. And haurls it at his curpin; And every now and then he says, Hemp-seed, I saw thee, And her that is to be my lass, Come after me, and draw thee As fast this night. He whistled up Lord Lennox march To keep his courage cheery; Although his hair began to arch, He was say fleyd and eerie: Till presently he hears a squeak, And then a grane and gruntle; He by his shouther gae a keek, And tumbled wi a wintle Out-owre that night. He roard a horrid murder-shout, In dreadfu desperation! And young and auld came runnin out To hear the sad narration; He swore twas hilchin Jean MCraw, Or crouchie Merran Humphie, Till, stop! she trotted through them And wha was it but grumphie Asteer that night! Meg fain wad to the barn hae gaen, To win three wechts o naething; But for to meet the deil her lane, She pat but little faith in: She gies the herd a pickle nits, And two red-cheekit apples, To watch, while for the barn she sets, In hopes to see Tam Kipples That very nicht. She turns the key wi cannie thraw, And owre the threshold ventures; But first on Sawnie gies a ca Syne bauldly in she enters: A ratton rattled up the wa, And she cried, Lord, preserve her! And ran through midden-hole and a, And prayd wi zeal and fervour, Fu fast that night; They hoyt out Will wi sair advice; They hecht him some fine braw ane; It chanced the stack he faddomd thrice Was timmer-propt for thrawin; He taks a swirlie, auld moss-oak, For some black grousome carlin; And loot a winze, and drew a stroke, Till skin in blypes cam haurlin Affs nieves that night. A wanton widow Leezie was, As canty as a kittlin; But, och! that night amang the shaws, She got a fearfu settlin! She through the whins, and by the cairn, And owre the hill gaed scrievin, Whare three lairds lands met at a burn To dip her left sark-sleeve in, Was bent that night. Whyles owre a linn the burnie plays, As through the glen it wimplt; Whyles round a rocky scaur it strays; Whyles in a wiel it dimplt; Whyles glitterd to the nightly rays, Wi bickering, dancing dazzle; Whyles cookit underneath the braes, Below the spreading hazel, Unseen that night. Among the brackens, on the brae, Between her and the moon, The deil, or else an outler quey, Gat up and gae a croon: Poor Leezies heart maist lap the hool! Near lavrock-height she jumpit; but mist a fit, and in the pool Out-owre the lugs she plumpit, Wi a plunge that night. In order, on the clean hearth-stane, The luggies three are ranged, And every time great care is taen, To see them duly changed: Auld Uncle John, wha wedlock joys Sin Mars year did desire, Because he gat the toom dish thrice, He heaved them on the fire In wrath that night. Wi merry sangs, and friendly cracks, I wat they didna weary; And unco tales, and funny jokes, Their sports were cheap and cheery; Till butterd sons, wi fragrant lunt, Set a their gabs a-steerin; Syne, wi a social glass o strunt, They parted aff careerin Fu blythe that night
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 10:41:18 +0000
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