The later poems of John Clare 1837-1864 ... General editor Eric Robinson: Edited by Eric Robinson and David Powell: Associate editor Margaret Grainger |
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The later poems of John Clare | ||
SCOTLAND
1
On the bleak hills o' Scotland my fancy reposesWhere the thistle blooms fairer than lilies or roses
The mountains o' mist and the dells o' brown bracken
Are dear to my childhood that land o Gods makin'
The scream o' the eagle, the loud water fall
Is dear to my manhood in freedom and thrall
Its tempests was music its cataracts joy
The music of nature I loved as a boy
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2
Proud land o cakes and free born mountaineersWi' their blue thistle caps that scarce cover their ears
Wi' their short tartan petticoats half down the thigh
They're the bravest o' steel blades I ever came nigh
The Bannockburn kittle blades dinna ye learn
Ye'll never earn bread if the thistle ye spurn
So here's a gude health to auld Scotlands red thistle
Ane he that winna drink that may gae whistle
3
Auld Scotland the land o' the thistle and braveThe refuge for freedom her birth-place and grave
But we'll stick to her thistle and ever contrive
To give mountain welcome and keep her alive
The white mountain rose in her cap it will bloom
And give us Scotch welcome wherever we come
So here's health to auld Scotland the brave and the free
Her mountains and Glens are the dwellings for me
The later poems of John Clare | ||