Robert Burns

A Red, Red Rose

Summary


Robert Burns’s A Red, Red Rose is a lyrical declaration of deep romantic devotion. The speaker compares his beloved to a newly blossoming rose and a beautiful melody, expressing both admiration and emotional intensity. Through vivid hyperbole, he vows that his love will endure beyond the drying of seas and the melting of rocks. Even as the poem closes with a temporary farewell, the speaker promises to return, affirming that true love remains constant despite time and distance.

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O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
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 love 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.

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