56. Why does the poet say that we steered the ship “heavily”?
57. Does “no welcome greeted our return” mean that none of the Scotch met the returning soldiers?
58. What were “Douglas Kirk” and “fair Melrose”? (The church of the Douglas clan and the stately abbey of Melrose. The latter may still be seen in beautiful ruins in southern Scotland.)
Annie Laurie
(Volume VI, page 119)
The Scotch dialect in this old favorite is one of its charms, but some readers may require explanation of a few of the terms.
“Braes” are hillsides or slopes. “Bonnie” is the Scotch way of spelling “bonny,” which, here, means “beautiful.”
“Fa’s” is the Scotch spelling of “falls.”
“Gie’d” is Scotch for “gave.”
The last line of the first stanza rendered into English would read, “I’d lay me down and die.”