Jacouse - "Oh, Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast"

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Oh, Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast

This tender love song is reputed to be one of the last songs written by Robert Burns and he wrote it for young Jessy Lewars who helped the Burns household during the poet's final illness and his wife's confinement. In it a lover is expressing the depth of his love for the young woman by declaring how he would protect her and share her worries and she would be the most important possession in his life, even if he had great riches and ruled the world. The beautiful melody is by Mendelssohn.

O wert thou in the cauld blast,
On yonder lea, on yonder lea,
My plaidie to the angry airt,
I'd shelter thee, I'd shelter thee.
Or did misfortune's bitter storms
Aroond thee blaw, aroond thee blaw,
Thy bield should be my bosom
To share it a' to share it a'.

Or were I in the wildest waste,
Sae black and bare, sae black and bare,
The desert were a paradise,
If thou wert there, if thou wert there.
Or were I monarch of the globe,
With thee to reign, with thee to reign
The brightest jewel in my crown
Wad be my queen, wad be my queen

cauld - cold
lea - grassland
plaidie - length of tartan cloth
airt - direction
aroond - around
blaw - blow
bield - shelter

© Arthur Wilson
arthur@jacouse.com