Open the Door to me, Oh by Robert Burns

A lover begs a woman to open her door, pledging fidelity despite her falsehood and lamenting the cold and her coldness toward him. When she opens it, she finds him dead and collapses beside him, never to rise again.

By Robert Burns · Genre: Ballad, Love Poetry · 206 words

First lines

Oh, open the door, some pity to shew, / Oh, open the door to me, oh, / Tho' thou hast been false, I'll ever prove true, / Oh, open the door to me, oh.

Cauld is the blast upon my pale cheek, / But caulder thy love for me, oh: / The frost that freezes the life at my heart, / Is nought to my pains frae thee, oh.

The wan Moon is setting beyond the white wave, / And Time is setting with me, oh: / False friends, false love, farewell! for mair / I'll ne'er trouble them, nor thee, oh.

She has open'd the door, she has open'd it wide, / She sees the pale corse on the plain, oh: / "My true love! " she cried, and sank down by his side, / Never to rise again, oh.

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Genres

• Ballad — Four rhymed stanzas with repeated line endings tell of a lover's unanswered plea and the woman's fatal collapse beside his body.
• Love Poetry — The lover promises continued fidelity, reproaches the woman's coldness, and bids farewell to false love.

Tags

unrequited love · betrayal · death · cold · ballad

What this Textopian page supports

Open the Door to me, Oh is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated Date unknown.

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: Date unknown
• Language: English
• Genres: Ballad, Love Poetry
• Length: 206 words
• Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for Open the Door to me, Oh by Robert Burns
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
• Readability and classroom-planning context
• Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

More by Robert Burns

• Handsome Nell (1808)
• O Tibbie, I Hae Seen the Day (1786)
• I Dream'D I Lay (1792)
• In the Character of a Ruined Farmer (1786)
• Tragic Fragment (1786)
• The Tarbolton Lasses (1808)
• Ah, Woe is me, my Mother Dear (1808)
• Montgomerie's Peggy (1790)
• All works by Robert Burns