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OCHIL FARMER, by             Poem Explanation        
First Line: Abune the braes I see him stand
Alternate Author Name(s): Haliburton, Hugh
Variant Title(s): The Farmer Of Westerha


ABUNE the braes I see him stand,
The tapmost corner o' his land,
An' scan wi' care, owre hill an' plain ,
A prospect he may ca' his ain.


His yowes ayont the hillocks feed,
Weel herdit in by wakefu' Tweed;
An' canny thro' the bent his kye
Gang creepin ' to the byre doun-by.


His hayfields lie fu ' smoothly shorn ,
An' ripenin' rise his rigs o' corn;
A simmer's evenin ' glory fa's
Upon his hamestead's sober wa's.


A stately figure there he stands
An' rests upon his staff his hands:
Maist like some patriarch of eld,
In sic an evenin's calm beheld .


A farmer he of Ochilside,
For worth respectit far an ' wide;
A friend of justice and of truth ,
A favourite wi' age an ' youth .


There's no' a bairn but kens him weel,
And ilka collie 's at his heel;
Nor beast nor body e'er had ocht
To wyte him wi' , in deed or thocht.


Fu' mony a gloamin ' may he stand
Abune the brae to bless the land!
Fu' mony a simmer rise an' fa '
In beauty owre his couthie ha'!


For peacefu ' aye, as simmer's air,
The kindly hearts that kindle there;
Whase friendship, sure an' aye the same,
For me mak's Ochilside a hame.






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