Inglis Collection of printed music > Printed music > Songs of Scotland adapted to their appropriate melodies > Volume 1

LOVE WILL VENTURE IN.
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ain dear May.
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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 it's like a baumy kiss o' her sweet bonnie mou ;
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 fair,
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' it's locks o' siller grey,
Where, like an aged man, it stands at break o' day ;
But the songster's nest within the bush I winna 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,
And 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 wtll venture in," &c, was written by Burns for Johnson's Museum. In a letter to Mr. George
Thomson, 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 clnsely 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 17 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,*
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
exquisite ; 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.
' Maid.
£ The open tield.