Glen Collection of printed music > Printed music > Wood's edition of the songs of Scotland

THE SONGS OF SCOTLAND.
55
104
LOVE WILL VENTURE IN.
ESPKESSIVO. 4?
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O love will ven - ture in where it daur - na weel be seen ; O
poco riteii.
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love will ven-ture in where wis - dom ance has been; But I wilt doun yon ri - ver rove, a
poco riten.
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ain dear May.
mang the woods sae green, And
to pu' a po - sie to my
The primrose I will pu', the firstlin' o' the year ;
And I will pu' the pink the emblem o' my dear ;
For she's the pink o' womankind, and blooms without a peer :
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May.
I'll pu' the buddin' rose, when Phoebus peeps in view,
For its like a baulmy kiss o' her sweet bonnie niou ;
The hyacinth's for constancy, wi' its unchangin' blue : —
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May.
The lily it is pure, and the lily it is fail-,
And in her lovely bosom I'll place the lily there ;
The daisy's for simplicity, of unaffected air : —
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May.
The hawthorn I will pu', wi' its locks o' siller grey,
Where, like an aged man, it stands at break o' day ;
But the songster's nest within the bush I winua take away :-
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May.
The woodbine I will pu' when the e'enin' star is near,
And the diamond-draps o' dew shall be her een sae clear ;
The violet's for modesty, which weel she fa's to wear : —
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May.
I'll tie the posie round wi' the silken band o' love,
Aud I'll place it in her breast, and I'll swear by a' above,
That to my latest breath o' life the band shall ne'er remove :-
And this will be a posie to my ain dear May.
" Love will venture in," &c, was written by Burns for Johnson's Museum. In a letter to Mr. George Thom-
son, 19th October 1794, Burns says, "The Posie, in the Museum, is my composition; the air was taken down from
Mrs. Burns' voice. It is well known in the west country ; but the old words are trash." He remarked how closely
it resembled in some passages, the air named " Roslin Castle," which he wrongly imagined that James Oswald had
composed. See Note on " Roslin Castle," page 8 of this work. In Cromek's Reliques, Burns gives a specimen of
the old song. The following is the first stanza : —
" There was a pretty May, 1 and a milkin' she went,
Wi' her red rosy cheeks, and her coal-black hair ;
And she has met a young man comin' o'er the bent, 2
With a double and adieu to thee, fair May."
Professor Wilson, comparing " Heliodora's Garland," by Meleager, with " The Posie," by Burns, says, " The Scot
surpasses the Greek in poetry as well as passion, his tenderness is more heartfelt, his expression is even more exqui-
site ; for the most consummate art, even when guided by genius, cannot refine and burnish, by repeated polishing,
the best selected words, up to the breathing beauty, that, warm from the fount of inspiration, sometimes colours the
pure language of nature." See Allan Cunningham's Works of Burns, vol. iv. p. 236.
l jj a ij. ' The open field.