The Poetry of Robert Burns :: :: University of Virginia Library

There lived a carl in Kellyburn Braes
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
And he had a wife was the plague o' his days
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

II

Ae day as the carl gaed up the lang glen
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
He met wi' the Devil, says:—‘How do you fen?’
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

III

‘I've got a bad wife, sir, that's a' my complaint
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
For, saving your presence, to her ye're a saint’
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

IV

‘It's neither your stot nor your staig I shall crave
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
‘But gie me your wife, man, for her I must have’
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

130

V

‘O welcome most kindly!’ the blythe carl said
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
‘But if ye can match her ye're waur than ye're ca'd’
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

VI

The Devil has got the auld wife on his back
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
And like a poor pedlar he's carried his pack
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

VII

He's carried her hame to his ain hallan-door
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
Syne bade her gae in for a bitch and a whore
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

VIII

Then straight he makes fifty, the pick o' his band
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
Turn out on her guard in the clap o' a hand
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

131

IX

The carlin gaed thro' them like onie wud bear
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!):
Whae'er she gat hands on cam ne'er her nae mair
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

X

A reekit wee deevil looks over the wa
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!):—
‘O help, maister, help, or she'll ruin us a'!’
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

XI

The Devil he swore by the edge o' his knife
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
He pitied the man that was tied to a wife
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

XII

The Devil he swore by the kirk and the bell
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
He was not in wedlock, thank Heav'n, but in Hell
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

132

XIII

Then Satan has travell'd again wi' his pack
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
And to her auld husband he's carried her back
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).

XIV

‘I hae been a Devil the feck o' my life
(Hey and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme!),
But ne'er was in Hell till I met wi' a wife’
(And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime!).