My Heart's in the Highlands by Robert Burns
The speaker bids farewell to the Highlands and the North, praising them as the birthplace of valour and worth. Though he may wander elsewhere, he declares enduring love for the Highland hills. His heart remains there, imagined chasing deer and following roe. He also parts from the snow-covered mountains, the straths, green valleys, forests, hanging woods, torrents, and roaring floods.
By Robert Burns · First published 1790 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Farewell Poem, Scottish Poetry · 166 words
First lines
Tune-"Failte na Miosg."
Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North, / The birth-place of Valour, the country of Worth; / Wherever I wander, wherever I rove, / The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.
Chorus. -My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here, / My heart's in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer; / Chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe, / My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.
Farewell to the mountains, high-cover'd with snow, / Farewell to the straths and green vallies below; / Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods, / Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods. / My heart's in the Highlands, &c.
Similar titles
- Farewell Song To The Banks Of Ayr by Robert Burns
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- Song Composed In August by Robert Burns
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a short, musical first-person poem expressing intense personal feeling through patterned verse and a recurring chorus.
- Farewell Poem — Its central dramatic action is the speaker's repeated farewell to the Highlands, mountains, valleys, forests, and waters of home.
- Scottish Poetry — The poem celebrates the Scottish Highlands, draws on a named traditional tune, and reflects Burns's Scottish cultural and linguistic context.
- Patriotic Poetry — The Highlands are idealized as a homeland of 'Valour' and 'Worth,' while the speaker's enduring devotion conveys regional patriotism.
Tags
Scottish Highlands · Scotland · Highland landscape · farewell · homesickness · longing for home · regional identity · patriotism · love of place · exile and wandering · nature poetry · lyric poetry
What this Textopian page supports
My Heart's in the Highlands is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1790 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: 1790 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Farewell Poem, Scottish Poetry, Patriotic Poetry, Nature Poetry
- Length: 166 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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