Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

On the Birth of a Posthumous Child, born in peculiar circumstances of family distress

Robert Burns

“On the Birth of a Posthumous Child, born in peculiar circumstances of family distress” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 285 1887 · historical text
Public domainScottish songSong lyrics
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Poetical Works of Robert Burns, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

Sweet flow'ret, pledge o' meikle love,

And ward o' mony a prayer,

What heart o' stane wad thou na move,

Sae helpless, sweet, and fair.

Verse 2

November hirples o'er the lea,

Chill, on thy lovely form;

And gane, alas! the shelt'ring tree,

Should shield thee frae the storm.

Verse 3

May He who gives the rain to pour,

And wings the blast to blaw,

Protect thee frae the driving show'r,

The bitter frost and snaw.

Verse 4

May He, the friend of woe and want,

Who heals life's various stounds,

Protect and guard the mother plant,

And heal her cruel wounds.

Verse 5

But late she flourish'd, rooted fast,

Fair in the summer morn:

Now, feebly bends she in the blast,

Unshelter'd and forlorn.

Verse 6

Blest be thy bloom, thou lovely gem,

Unscath'd by ruffian hand!

And from thee many a parent stem

Arise to deck our land.

Credits

Written by Robert Burns

Words by Robert Burns. Historical text published in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887), “On the Birth of a Posthumous Child, born in peculiar circumstances of family distress”

Every text in this 1887 collected edition is by Robert Burns (1759-1796), who died more than 230 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide; the edition carries a Wikisource PD-old determination and a pre-1931 United States publication.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-25. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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