First par

What may be Burns's best-known love song (Ae Fond Kiss is the rival contender) suits this time of year, with roses, both wild and cultivated, coming into bloom. The references to seas going dry and rocks melting may have been suggested by the revolutionary new perspectives on geology offered by Burns's older contemporary, James Hutton (1726-1797).

A RED RED ROSE

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 play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will love 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, a while!

And I will come again, my Luve,

Tho' it were ten thousand mile!