It’s a song of lovers parting: well-trodden poetic territory, then, but has anyone ever conveyed that sweet sorrow better than Burns does here? It feels – and was – truly ‘heart-wrung’; Burns wrote it upon saying ‘fare thee weel’ to his married lover, Agnes Maclehose (‘Nancy’ was his nickname for her) in 1791. After an intense but chaste affair, Agnes was leaving Scotland to join her (awful) husband in Jamaica. Burns included this poem in his final letter to her.

Ae Fond Kiss by Robert Burns

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, and then forever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee.
Who shall say that Fortune grieves him,
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerfu’ twinkle lights me;
Dark despair around benights me.

I’ll ne’er blame my partial fancy,
Naething could resist my Nancy;
But to see her was to love her;
Love but her, and love forever.
Had we never lov’d sae kindly,
Had we never lov’d sae blindly,
Never met—or never parted—
We had ne’er been broken-hearted.

Fare thee weel, thou first and fairest!
Fare thee weel, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, enjoyment, love, and pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, alas, forever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee!

What I love most in the poem is Burns’ extraordinary generosity of spirit. He may be languishing in ‘dark despair’, but, unlike many a great love poet, he doesn’t let the poem become all about him or his marvellous way with metaphors. Imagine being Agnes and reading this about yourself: ‘But to see her was to love her; / Love but her and love forever.’ No regrets or rancour here; just pure praise and the warmest of wishes.

I also love how the poem comes full circle, with Burns reprising at the end his opening lines of ‘fareweel’ to his lady. He’s supposed to be parting from her – he claims he’s ready to do so… but he can’t quite do it. Not yet. So he begins again. This ‘fond kiss’ could last forever.

Hapy Burns Day!

Andrew Macdonal-Brown
Teacher of English