Burns, Robert – Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet,
For days of auld lang syne.

We twa hae run aboot the braes
And pull’d the gowans fine.
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
Since days of auld lang syne.

And we twa hae paid’l’d in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roared
Since days of auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet,
For days of auld lang syne.

—

And surely you’ll be your pint stoop,
And surely I’ll be mine;
And we’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And ther’s a hand, my trusty fier’,
And gie’s a hand to thine;
And we’ll tak’ a right good willywaught,
For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

Robert Burns

(Sung by Dougie McLean)

Bishop, Elizabeth – One Art

 
The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster,

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

– Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

Elizabeth Bishop

Burns, Robert – Scots Wha Hae

Scots, wha hae wi’ Wallace bled,

Scots, wham Bruce has aften led;

Welcome to your gory bed,

         Or to victory!

Now’s the day, and now’s the hour;

See the front o’ battle lour;

See approach proud Edward’s power—

         Chains and slavery!

Wha will be a traitor knave?

Wha can fill a coward’s grave!

Wha sae base as be a slave?

         Let him turn and flee!

Wha for Scotland’s king and law

Freedom’s sword will strongly draw,

Freeman stand, or freeman fa’,

         Let him follow me!

By oppression’s woes and pains!

By your sons in servile chains!

We will drain our dearest veins,

         But they shall be free!

Lay the proud usurpers low!

Tyrants fall in every foe!

Liberty’s in every blow!—

         Let us do or die!

Robert Burns – Reposted from YouTube

My grandmother was a Wallace. Her dad’s (and her grandad’s) name was William Wallace – the name of Scotland’s national hero, who was hung, drawn and quartered for rebelling against the English ruler, King Edward ‘Hammer of the Scots’. She loved to sing this song to me when I was a little boy.

Bai, Li – Alone And Drinking Under the Moon

 

Amongst the flowers I

am alone with my pot of wine

drinking by myself; then lifting

my cup I asked the moon

to drink with me, its reflection

and mine in the wine cup, just

the three of us; then I sigh

for the moon cannot drink,

and my shadow goes emptily along

with me never saying a word;

with no other friends here, I can

but use these two for company;

in the time of happiness, I

too must be happy with all

around me; I sit and sing

and it is as if the moon

accompanies me; then if I

dance, it is my shadow that

dances along with me; while

still not drunk, I am glad

to make the moon and my shadow

into friends, but then when

I have drunk too much, we

all part; yet these are

friends I can always count on

these who have no emotion

whatsoever; I hope that one day

we three will meet again,

deep in the Milky Way.

 

Li Bai (AKA Li Po) – reposted from YouTube

Burns, Robert – Ca’ the Yowes (Version 2)

Ca’ the yowes to the knowes,
Ca’ them where the heather grows
Ca’ them where the burnie rows,
My bonie dearie.

Hark! the mavis’ evening sang
Sounding Cluden’s woods amang,
Then a-fauldin let us gang,
My bonie dearie.

We’ll gae down by Cluden side,
Thro’ the hazels spreading wide,
O’er the waves that sweetly glide
To the moon sae clearly.

Yonder Cluden’s silent towers,
Where at moonshine midnight hours,
O’er the dewy-bending flowers,
Fairies dance sae cheery.

Ghaist nor bogle shalt thou fear;
Thou ‘rt to love and Heaven sae dear,
Nocht of ill may come thee near,
My bonie dearie.

Fair and lovely as thou art,
Thou hast stown my very heart;
I can die—but canna part,
My bonie dearie.

Robert Burns – sung by Dougie MacLean

Bukowski, Charles – Roll the dice

 

if you’re going to try,
go all the way.
otherwise, don’t even start.

this could mean losing girlfriends,
wives, relatives, jobs and
maybe your mind.

it could mean not eating for 3 or 4 days.
it could mean freezing on a
park bench.
it could mean jail,
it could mean derision,
it could mean mockery,
isolation.
isolation is the gift,
all the others are a test
of your endurance,
of how much you really want to
do it.
and you’ll do it
despite rejection and the worst odds
and it will be better than
anything else
you can imagine.

if you’re going to try,
go all the way.
there is no other feeling like that.
you will be alone with the gods
and the nights will flame with fire.

you will ride life
straight to perfect laughter,
it’s the only good fight there is.

Charles Bukowski

Reposted from YouTube

Byron, Lord – She Walks in Beauty

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Lord Byron

Reposted from Soundcloud – westfront

Burns, Robert – Ye banks and braes

Author Notes:

Written by Burns, not about himself, rather it is his depiction of a woman spurned by her lover after a short relationship. It’s a poem and a song. (The language of course has colloquialisms but these are fairly easy to follow).

Ye banks and braes o’ bonnie Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary fu’ o’ care!
Thou’ll break my heart, thou warbling bird,
That wantons thro’ the flowering thorn:
Thou minds me o’ departed joys,
Departed never to return.

Aft hae I rov’d by bonnie Doon,
To see the rose and woodbine twine:
And ilka bird sang o’ its Luve,
And fondly sae did I o’ mine;
Wi’ lightsome heart I pu’d a rose,
Fu’ sweet upon its thorny tree!
And may fause Luver staw my rose,
But ah! he left the thorn wi’ me.

Robert Burns – Third Version, 1791 – Sung by Holly Tomas – from DonniesAmerican, YouTube

Burns, Robert – Ae fond kiss

 
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!
Who shall say that Fortune grieves him
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerfu’ 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 loved sae kindly,
Had we never loved 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!

Robert Burns
 

Author Notes:

A Robert Burns ballad – sung by Dougie MacLean – not exactly to the original words but close: Source YouTube John Cunningham

Burns, Robert – Ca’ the Yowes to the Knowes

Ca’ the yowes to the knowes,
Ca’ them where the heather grows
Ca’ them where the burnie rows,
My bonnie dearie.

Hark! the mavis’ evening sang
Sounding Clouden’s woods amang,
Then a-fauldin let us gang,
My bonnie dearie.

We’ll gae down by Clouden side,
Thro’ the hazels spreading wide,
O’er the waves that sweetly glide
To the moon sae clearly.

Yonder Clouden’s silent towers,
Where at moonshine midnight hours,
O’er the dewy-bending flowers,
Fairies dance sae cheery.

Ghaist nor bogle shalt thou fear;
Thou ‘rt to love and Heaven sae dear,
Nocht of ill may come thee near,
My bonnie dearie.

Fair and lovely as thou art,
Thou hast stown my very heart;
I can die—but canna part,
My bonnie dearie.

Robert Burns

Sung by Sophie Ramsay

Author Notes:

It’s not a soundcloud poem; it’s a ballad by the poet Robert Burns. It is sung so well here, just had to add a link.