Classic and Contemporary Poetry
WHEN THE KYE CAME HOME, by JAMES HOGG Poem Explanation Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Come all ye jolly shepherds Last Line: When the kye comes hame! Alternate Author Name(s): The Ettrick Shepherd; The Bard Of Ettrick Variant Title(s): When The Kye Comes Home Subject(s): Love | ||||||||
COME, all ye jolly shepherds That whistle through the glen, I'll tell ye of a secret That courtiers dinna ken: What is the greatest bliss That the tongue o' man can name? 'T is to woo a bonny lassie When the kye comes hame! When the kye comes hame, When the kye comes hame, 'Tween the gloaming and the mirk, When the kye comes hame! 'T is not beneath the coronet, Nor canopy of state, 'T is not on couch of velvet, Nor arbor of the great, -- 'T is beneath the spreading birk, In the glen without the name, Wi' a bonny, bonny lassie, When the kye comes hame! When the kye comes hame, etc. There the blackbird bigs his nest For the mate he loes to see, And on the topmost bough, O, a happy bird is he; Where he pours his melting ditty, And love is a' the theme, And he'll woo his bonny lassie When the kye comes hame! When the kye comes hame, etc. When the blewart bears a pearl, And the daisy turns a pea, And the bonny lucken gowan Has fauldit up her ee, Then the laverock frae the blue lift Doops down, an' thinks nae shame To woo his bonny lassie When the kye comes hame! When the kye comes hame, etc. See yonder pawkie shepherd, That lingers on the hill, His ewes are in the fauld, An' his lambs are lying still; Yet he downa gang to bed, For his heart is in a flame, To meet his bonny lassie When the kye comes hame! When the kye comes hame, etc. When the little wee bit heart Rises high in the breast, An' the little wee bit starn Rises red in the east, O there's a joy sae dear, That the heart can hardly frame, Wi' a bonny, bonny lassie, When the kye comes hame! When the kye comes hame, etc. Then since all nature joins In this love without alloy, O, wha was prove a traitor To Nature's dearest joy? O, wha wad choose a crown, Wi' its perils and its fame, And miss his bonny lassie When the kye comes hame, When the kye comes hame! 'Tween the gloaming and the mirk, When the kye comes hame! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE INVENTION OF LOVE by MATTHEA HARVEY TWO VIEWS OF BUSON by ROBERT HASS A LOVE FOR FOUR VOICES: HOMAGE TO FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN by ANTHONY HECHT AN OFFERING FOR PATRICIA by ANTHONY HECHT LATE AFTERNOON: THE ONSLAUGHT OF LOVE by ANTHONY HECHT |
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