There will probably never be agreement on what is Burns’s greatest love song.
Contenders include My Luve’ s Like a Red, Red Rose; Ye Banks and Braes o’ Bonie Doon; and O Were I on Parnassus Hill, with its pledge:‘Tho’ I were doom’d to wander on,/ Beyond the sea, beyond the sun,/Till my last, weary sand was run;/Till then – and then I love thee.’ But, for the most passionate exploration of love and loss, the text below must surely hold the prize.
SONG – AE FOND KISS
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Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, and then for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee.
~
Who shall say that Fortune grieves him,
While the star of hope she leaves him:
Me, nae cheerful twinkle lights me;
Dark despair around benights me.
~
I’ll ne’er blame my partial fancy,
Naething could resist my Nancy:
But to see her, was to love her;
Love but her, and love for ever.
~
Had we never lov’d sae kindly,
Had we never lov’d sae blindly!
Never met – or never parted,
We had ne’er been broken-hearted.
~
Fare-thee-weel, thou first and fairest!
Fare-thee-weel, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure. –
Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure!
~
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!
Ae fareweel, Alas, for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee.