The Banks o' Doon (Third Version)
The speaker addresses the beautiful banks and braes of bonie Doon, wondering how they and the birds can remain so fresh, fair, and joyful while he is burdened by sorrow. A warbling bird among the flowering thorns recalls joys that have gone forever. Remembering earlier walks by Bonie Doon, he recalls roses and woodbine entwined, birds singing of love, and his own happy love-song. He once picked a sweet rose with a light heart, but a false lover stole the rose and left him only its thorn.
By Robert Burns · First published 1791 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Pastoral Poetry · 182 words
First lines
Ye banks and braes o' bonie 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 Bonie 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.
Similar titles
- The Banks O Doon Second Version by Robert Burns
- The Banks O Doon First Version by Robert Burns
- The Lament by Robert Burns
- The Bonie Lad Thats Far Awa by Robert Burns
- To A Mountain Daisy by Robert Burns
- Stay My Charmer by Robert Burns
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a short, song-like first-person poem expressing concentrated personal feeling through musical rhythm, repetition, and imagery.
- Love Poetry — Its central subject is the speaker's grief over lost or betrayed love, recalled through memories of earlier happiness by the River Doon.
- Pastoral Poetry — The poem places emotional experience within an idealized rural landscape of banks, braes, birds, roses, woodbine, and flowering thorns.
- Elegiac Poetry — The speaker mourns departed joys that will never return, giving the poem a sustained tone of loss, remembrance, and sorrow.
Tags
Scottish poetry · Scots language · lyric poem · pastoral · love lament · betrayal · lost love · unfaithful lover · heartbreak · sorrow · memory · departed joys
What this Textopian page supports
The Banks o' Doon (Third Version) is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1791 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: 1791 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Pastoral Poetry, Elegiac Poetry, Scottish Vernacular Poetry
- Length: 182 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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