Famous Hae Poems by Famous Poets

These are examples of famous Hae poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous hae poems. These examples illustrate what a famous hae poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).

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John Barleycorn

by Robert Burns
 There were three kings into the east,
Three kings both great and high,
An' they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn should die.

They took a plough and ploughed him down,
Put clods upon his head;
An' they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn was dead.

But the cheerfu' spring came kindly on,
And show'rs began to fall;
John Barleycorn got up again,
And sore surprised them all.

The...Read more of this...

57. Holy Willie's Prayer

by Robert Burns
 O THOU, who in the heavens does dwell,
Who, as it pleases best Thysel’,
Sends ane to heaven an’ ten to hell,
 A’ for Thy glory,
And no for ony gude or ill
 They’ve done afore Thee!


I bless and praise Thy matchless might,
When thousands Thou hast left in night,
That I am here afore Thy sight,
 For gifts an’ grace
A burning and a...Read more of this...

237. Song—It is na Jean thy Bonie Face

by Robert Burns
 IT is na, Jean, thy bonie face,
 Nor shape that I admire;
Altho’ thy beauty and thy grace
 Might weel awauk desire.


Something, in ilka part o’ thee,
 To praise, to love, I find,
But dear as is thy form to me,
 Still dearer is thy mind.


Nae mair ungenerous wish I hae,
 Nor stronger in my breast,
Than, if I canna make thee...Read more of this...

348. Song—I hae been at Crookieden

by Robert Burns
 I HAE been at Crookieden,
 My bonie laddie, Highland laddie,
Viewing Willie and his men,
 My bonie laddie, Highland laddie.
There our foes that burnt and slew,
 My bonie laddie, Highland laddie,
There, at last, they gat their due,
 My bonie laddie, Highland laddie.


Satan sits in his black neuk,
 My bonie laddie, Highland laddie,
Breaking sticks to roast the Duke,
 My bonie laddie,...Read more of this...

417. Song—Blythe hae I been on yon hill

by Robert Burns
 BLYTHE hae I been on yon hill,
 As the lambs before me;
Careless ilka thought and free,
 As the breeze flew o’er me;
Now nae langer sport and play,
 Mirth or sang can please me;
LESLEY is sae fair and coy,
 Care and anguish seize me.


Heavy, heavy is the task,
 Hopeless love declaring;
Trembling, I dow nocht but glow’r,
 Sighing, dumb despairing!
If she...Read more of this...

194. Song—Blythe was She

by Robert Burns
 Chorus.—Blythe, blythe and merry was she,
 Blythe was she but and ben;
Blythe by the banks of Earn,
 And blythe in Glenturit glen.


BY 1 Oughtertyre grows the aik,
 On Yarrow banks the birken shaw;
But Phemie was a bonier lass
 Than braes o’ Yarrow ever saw.
 Blythe, blythe, &c.


Her looks were like a flow’r in May,
 Her smile was like a...Read more of this...

497. Song—The Tear-drop—'Wae is my heart'

by Robert Burns
 WAE is my heart, and the tear’s in my e’e;
Lang, lang has Joy been a stranger to me:
Forsaken and friendless, my burden I bear,
And the sweet voice o’ Pity ne’er sounds in my ear.


Love thou hast pleasures, and deep hae I luv’d;
Love, thou hast sorrows, and sair hae I pruv’d;
But this bruisèd heart that now bleeds in my breast,
I...Read more of this...

258. Epistle to James Tennant of Glenconner

by Robert Burns
 AULD comrade dear, and brither sinner,
How’s a’ the folk about Glenconner?
How do you this blae eastlin wind,
That’s like to blaw a body blind?
For me, my faculties are frozen,
My dearest member nearly dozen’d.
I’ve sent you here, by Johnie Simson,
Twa sage philosophers to glimpse on;
Smith, wi’ his sympathetic feeling,
An’ Reid, to common sense appealing.
Philosophers have fought and wrangled,
An’ meikle Greek an’...Read more of this...

296. The Five Carlins: An Election Ballad

by Robert Burns
 THERE was five Carlins in the South,
 They fell upon a scheme,
To send a lad to London town,
 To bring them tidings hame.


Nor only bring them tidings hame,
 But do their errands there,
And aiblins gowd and honor baith
 Might be that laddie’s share.


There was Maggy by the banks o’ Nith,
 A dame wi’ pride eneugh;
And Marjory o’ the mony...Read more of this...

553. Song—O lay thy loof in mine lass

by Robert Burns
 Chorus—O lay thy loof in mine, lass,
In mine, lass, in mine, lass;
And swear on thy white hand, lass,
 That thou wilt be my ain.


A SLAVE to Love’s unbounded sway,
He aft has wrought me meikle wae;
But now he is my deadly fae,
 Unless thou be my ain.
 O lay thy loof, &c.


There’s mony a lass has broke my rest,
That for...Read more of this...

300. Scots Prologue for Mr. Sutherland

by Robert Burns
 WHAT needs this din about the town o’ Lon’on,
How this new play an’ that new sang is comin?
Why is outlandish stuff sae meikle courted?
Does nonsense mend, like brandy, when imported?
Is there nae poet, burning keen for fame,
Will try to gie us sangs and plays at hame?
For Comedy abroad he need to toil,
A fool and knave are plants of every...Read more of this...

309. Verses on Captain Grose

by Robert Burns
 KEN ye aught o’ Captain Grose?—Igo, and ago,
If he’s amang his friends or foes?—Iram, coram, dago.


Is he to Abra’m’s bosom gane?—Igo, and ago,
Or haudin Sarah by the wame?—Iram, coram dago.


Is he south or is he north?—Igo, and ago,
Or drowned in the river Forth?—Iram, coram dago.


Is he slain by Hielan’ bodies?—Igo, and ago,
And eaten like a wether haggis?—Iram, coram, dago.


Where’er...Read more of this...

542. Song—Fragment—the Wren's Nest

by Robert Burns
 THE ROBIN to the Wren’s nest
 Cam keekin’ in, cam keekin’ in;
O weel’s me on your auld pow,
 Wad ye be in, wad ye be in?
Thou’s ne’er get leave to lie without,
 And I within, and I within,
Sae lang’s I hae an auld clout
 To rowe ye in, to rowe ye in....Read more of this...

142. Epistle to Major Logan

by Robert Burns
 HAIL, thairm-inspirin’, rattlin’ Willie!
Tho’ fortune’s road be rough an’ hilly
To every fiddling, rhyming billie,
 We never heed,
But take it like the unback’d filly,
 Proud o’ her speed.


When, idly goavin’, whiles we saunter,
Yirr! fancy barks, awa we canter,
Up hill, down brae, till some mischanter,
 Some black bog-hole,
Arrests us; then the scathe an’ banter
 We’re forced to thole.


Hale be your heart!...Read more of this...

Bessies Boil

by Robert William Service
 Says I to my Missis: "Ba goom, lass! you've something I see, on your mind."
Says she: "You are right, Sam, I've something. It 'appens it's on me be'ind.
A Boil as 'ud make Job jealous. It 'urts me no end when I sit."
Says I: "Go to 'ospittel, Missis. They might 'ave to coot it a bit."
Says she: "I just 'ate...Read more of this...

Auld Lang Syne

by Robert Burns
 Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And 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.

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang...Read more of this...

297. Election Ballad for Westerha'

by Robert Burns
 THE LADDIES by the banks o’ Nith
 Wad trust his Grace 1 wi a’, Jamie;
But he’ll sair them, as he sair’d the King—
 Turn tail and rin awa’, Jamie.


Chorus.—Up and waur them a’, Jamie,
 Up and waur them a’;
The Johnstones hae the guidin o’t,
 Ye turncoat Whigs, awa’!


The day he stude his country’s friend,
 Or gied her faes a...Read more of this...

90. Epistle to James Smith

by Robert Burns
 DEAR SMITH, the slee’st, pawkie thief,
That e’er attempted stealth or rief!
Ye surely hae some warlock-brief
 Owre human hearts;
For ne’er a bosom yet was prief
 Against your arts.


For me, I swear by sun an’ moon,
An’ ev’ry star that blinks aboon,
Ye’ve cost me twenty pair o’ shoon,
 Just gaun to see you;
An’ ev’ry ither pair that’s done,
 Mair taen I’m wi’...Read more of this...

226. Song—I hae a Wife o' my Ain

by Robert Burns
 I HAE a wife of my ain,
 I’ll partake wi’ naebody;
I’ll take Cuckold frae nane,
 I’ll gie Cuckold to naebody.


I hae a penny to spend,
 There—thanks to naebody!
I hae naething to lend,
 I’ll borrow frae naebody.


I am naebody’s lord,
 I’ll be slave to naebody;
I hae a gude braid sword,
 I’ll tak dunts frae naebody.


I’ll be merry and free,
 I’ll...Read more of this...

289. Song—Awa' Whigs Awa'

by Robert Burns
 Chorus.—Awa’ Whigs, awa’!
 Awa’ Whigs, awa’!
Ye’re but a pack o’ traitor louns,
 Ye’ll do nae gude at a’.


OUR thrissles flourish’d fresh and fair,
 And bonie bloom’d our roses;
But Whigs cam’ like a frost in June,
 An’ wither’d a’ our posies.
 Awa’ Whigs, &c.


Our ancient crown’s fa’en in the dust—
 Deil blin’ them wi’ the stoure o’t!
An’ write their names...Read more of this...

318. Song—The Banks o' Doon (Third Version)

by Robert Burns
 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...Read more of this...

2. Song—O Tibbie I hae seen the day

by Robert Burns
 Chor.—O Tibbie, I hae seen the day,
 Ye wadna been sae shy;
For laik o’ gear ye lightly me,
 But, trowth, I care na by.


YESTREEN I met you on the moor,
Ye spak na, but gaed by like stour;
Ye geck at me because I’m poor,
 But fient a hair care I.
 O Tibbie, I hae seen the day, &c.


When coming hame...Read more of this...

111. Address to Beelzebub

by Robert Burns
 LONG life, my Lord, an’ health be yours,
Unskaithed by hunger’d Highland boors;
Lord grant me nae duddie, desperate beggar,
Wi’ dirk, claymore, and rusty trigger,
May twin auld Scotland o’ a life
She likes—as butchers like a knife.


Faith you and Applecross were right
To keep the Highland hounds in sight:
I doubt na! they wad bid nae better,
Than let them ance out owre the water,
Then...Read more of this...

Ye Banks And Braes OBonnie Doon

by Robert Burns
 Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fair!
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae fu' o' care!

Thou'll break my heart, thou bonnie bird
That sings upon the bough;
Thou minds me o' the happy days
When my fause Luve was true.

Thou'll break my heart, thou bonnie bird
That sings beside thy mate;
For sae I sat, and sae...Read more of this...

Scots Wha Hae Wi Wallace Bled

by Robert Burns
 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...Read more of this...

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