The poem
Robert Burns (1759–1796)
Published in 1794 in Johnson's Scots Musical Museum.
O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly played in tune.
So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.
About the author
Robert Burns (1759–1796) was a Scottish poet and songwriter, Scotland's national bard. Born to a poor farming family in Ayrshire, he wrote in Scots and English about love, drink, hypocrisy and the dignity of ordinary people. 'A Red, Red Rose' appeared in 1794 in Johnson's Scots Musical Museum, a collection for which Burns gathered and rewrote traditional songs. He died at thirty-seven; his birthday, January 25, is still celebrated worldwide as Burns Night.
Themes
Love declared in the language of folk song: simple similes, repeated vows, impossible promises. The poem moves from praise (the rose, the melody) to eternity (seas drying, rocks melting) to farewell, ending with the promise to return across 'ten thousand mile'. Its power is in its plainness.
Reading note
Try singing it: Burns wrote it as a song lyric, and the repetitions ('Till a' the seas gang dry') are refrains, not filler. The Scots words (luve, bonnie, gang, weel) are part of the music. Do not smooth them into standard English; the dialect is the poem's voice.