Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE BUSH ABOON TRAQUAIR, by JOHN CAMPBELL SHAIRP


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE BUSH ABOON TRAQUAIR, by             Poem Explanation         Poet's Biography
First Line: Will ye gang wi' me and fare
Last Line: And the love that ance was there, aye fresh and green.


WILL ye gang wi' me and fare
To the bush aboon Traquair?
Owre the high Minchmuir we'll up and awa',
This bonnie summer noon,
While the sun shines fair aboon,
And the licht sklents saftly doon on holm and ha'.

And what wad ye do there,
At the bush aboon Traquair?
A lang dreich road, ye'd better let it be,
Save some auld skrunts o' birk
Which i' the hillside lirk,
There's nocht i' the warld for man to see.

But the blithe lilt o' that air --
"The Bush aboon Traquair" --
I need nae mair, it's eneuch for me;
Owre my cradle its sweet chime
Cam' soughin' frae auld Time,
Sae tide what may, I'll awa' and see,

And what saw ye there,
At the bush aboon Traquair,
Or what did you hear was worth your heed?
I heard the cushies croon,
Through the gowden afternoon,
And Quair burn singin' doon to the vale o' Tweed.

And birks saw I three or four,
Wi' grey moss bearded owre,
The last that are left o' the birken shaw,
Whaur mony a summer e'en,
Fond lovers did convene,
Thae bonnie, bonnie gloamings that are lang awa'.

Frae mony a but and ben,
By muirlan', holm, and glen,
They cam' ane hour to spen' on the greenwood sward;
But lang hae lad and lass
Been lying 'neath the grass,
The green, green grass o' Traquair kirkyard.

They were blest beyond compare,
When they held their trystin' there,
Amang the greenest hills shone on by the sun;
And syne they want a rest --
The lownest and the best --
I' Traquair kirkyard when a' was done.

Now the birks to dust may rot,
Names of lovers be forgot,
Nae lads and lasses there ony mair convene;
But the blythe lilt o' yon air
Keeps the bush aboon Traquair,
And the love that ance was there, aye fresh and green.





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