YE sunny braes that skirt the Clyde, [1]
Wi simmer flowers sae braw,
There's ae sweet flower on Levern side,
That's fairer than them a' :
Yet aye it droops its head in wae,
Regardless o the sunny ray,
An wastes its sweets frac day to day,
Beside the lanely shaw.
Wi leaves a steep'd in sorrow's dew,
Fause, cruel man, it seems to rue,
Wha aft the sweetest flower will pu,
Then rend its heart in twa.
Thou bonnie flower on Levern side,
Oh, gin thou'lt be but mine,
I'll tend thee wi a lover's pride,
Wi love that ne'er shall tyne.
I'll tak thee to my shelt'ring bower,
An shiel thee frae the beating shower,
Unharmed by aucht thou'It blume secure
Frae a the blasts that blaw :
Thy charms surpass the crimson dye
That streaks the glowing western sky;
But here, unshaded, soon thou'lt die,
An lane will be thy fa.
Note by Ramsay.—“The Levern (which must not be confounded with the Leven of Smollet's Ode) is a rivulet that falls into the Cart near Crockston Castle.”
[1] “The sunny braes that skirt the Clyde” are seen from the summit of Gleniffer and Fereneze Braes, 580 feet high. Standing there, one of the most magnificent and varied scenes is opened up to view,—the great valley of Strathgryffe, in the highest state of cultivation, dotted over with mansions and plantations, lies at your feet ; and in the distance the Kilpatrick Hills from Partick to Dumbarton —the “sunny braes that skirt the Clyde”—where the great luminary, when he shines, always shines with freshness and brilliancy.—Ed.
[Semple 88]