72
THE SONGS OF SCOTLAND.
f = 72
ALLF.fiRETTO.
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LASSIE WI' THE LINT-WHITE LOCKS.
AIR, " ROTHIEMURCHUS' RAXT."
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GE
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Lag - sie wi' the lint-white locks, Bon - nie las - sie, art - less las - sie ;
*
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Wilt thou wi'
ne tent the flocks ? Wilt thou be my dear - ie, O ?
Now
$
mmm^m
na - ture deads the flow' - ry lea, And
young and sweet like thee ; O
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wilt thou share its joys wi' me?
And
say thou'lt be my dear - ie,
O?
I
*3E3
SEE^
£
t-}H^
Las
sie wi
the lint - white locks ; Bon
ill
P^f
nie las
— v-
sie, art
less las - sie ;
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Wilt thou wi'
me tent the flocks ? Wilt thou be
my
dear - ie,
f
0?
The succeeding verses begin at the sign :$:
And when the welcome simmer-shower
Has cheer'd ilk drooping little flower,
We'll to the breathing woodbine bower
At sultry noon, my dearie, 0.
Lassie wi' the lint-white locks, &c.
When Cynthia lights, wi' silver ray,
The weary shearer's hameward way ;
Thro' yellow waving fields we'll stray,
And talk o' love, my dearie, 0.
Lassie wi' the lint-white locks, &c.
And when the howling wintry blast
Disturbs my lassie's midnight rest ;
Enclasped to my faithfu' breast,
I'll comfort thee, my dearie, 0.
Lassie wi' the lint-white locks, &c.
" Lassie wi' the hnt-white looks." Burns, in a letter to George Thomson, September 1794, makes the following
observations : — " I am sensible that my taste in music must be inelegant and vulgar, because people of undisputed
and cultivated taste can find no merit in my favourite tunes. Still, because I am cheaply pleased, is that any reason
why I should deny myself that pleasure ? Many of our strathspeys, ancient and modern, give me most exquisite
enjoyment, where you and other judges would probably be showing disgust. For instance, I am just now making
verses for ' Kothemurche's Kant,' an air which puts me in raptures ; and, in fact, unless I be pleased with the tune,
I never can make verses to it. Here I have Clarke on my side, [Stephen Clarke, an Englishman,] who is a judge
that I will pit against any of you. ' Rothemurche,' * he says, ' is an air both original and beautiful ;' and on his
recommendation, I have taken the first part of the tune for a chorus, and the fourth, or last part, for the song. I
am but two stanzas deep in the work, and possibly you may think, and justly, that the poetry is as little worth your
attention as the music." The song that Burns here alluded to was " Lassie wi' the lint-white locks," which he sent to
Mr. Thomson in November 1794.
* Rothiemurchus.