I.
By yon castle wa’, at the close of the day,
I heard a man sing, though his head it was gray;
And as he was singing the tears down came,
There’ll never be peace till Jamie comes hame.
The church is in ruins, the state is in jars;
Delusions, oppressions, and murderous wars:
We darena weel say’t, though we ken wha’s to blame,
There’ll never be peace till Jamie comes hame!
II.
My seven braw sons for Jamie drew sword,
And now I greet round their green beds in the yerd.
It brak the sweet heart of my faithfu’ auld dame—
There’ll never be peace till Jamie comes hame.
Now life is a burthen that bows me down,
Since I tint my bairns, and he tint his crown;
But till my last moments my words are the same—
There’ll never be peace till Jamie comes hame!
C.
HOW CAN I BE BLYTHE AND GLAD?
Tune—“The bonnie lad that’s far awa.”
[This lamentation was written, it is said, in allusion to the sufferings of Jean Armour, when her correspondence with Burns was discovered by her family.]
I.