The Poetry of Robert Burns Edited by William Ernest Henley and Thomas F. Henderson |
 | I. |
| 2. |
 | III. |
ADOWN WINDING NITH |
| IV. |
 | The Poetry of Robert Burns |  |
ADOWN WINDING NITH
Chorus
Awa wi' your belles and your beauties—They never wi' her can compare!
Whaever hae met wi' my Phillis
Has met wi' the Queen o' the Fair!
I
Adown winding Nith I did wanderTo mark the sweet flowers as they spring.
Adown winding Nith I did wander
Of Phillis to muse and to sing.
II
The Daisy amus'd my fond fancy,So artless, so simple, so wild:
‘Thou emblem,’ said I, ‘o' my Phillis’—
For she is Simplicity's child.
228
III
The rose-bud's the blush o' my charmer,Her sweet balmy lip when 'tis prest.
How fair and how pure is the lily!
But fairer and purer her breast.
IV
Yon knot of gay flowers in the arbour,They ne'er wi' my Phillis can vie:
Her breath is the breath of the woodbine,
Its dew-drop o' diamond her eye.
V
Her voice is the song o' the morning,That wakes thro' the green-spreading grove,
When Phebus peeps over the mountains
On music, and pleasure, and love.
VI
But Beauty, how frail and how fleeting!The bloom of a fine summer's day!
While Worth in the mind o' my Phillis
Will flourish without a decay.
Chorus
Awa wi' your belles and your beauties—They never wi' her can compare!
Whaever hae met wi' my Phillis
Has met wi' the Queen o' the Fair!
| The Poetry of Robert Burns | |