Lyric Poem · Love

Braw Lads o’ Gala Water

by Robert Burns

Reading room

1BRAW, braw lads on Yarrow-braes,

2 They rove amang the blooming heather;

3But Yarrow braes, nor Ettrick shaws

4 Can match the lads o’ Galla Water.

5But there is ane, a secret ane,

6 Aboon them a’ I loe him better;

7And I’ll be his, and he’ll be mine,

8 The bonie lad o’ Galla Water.

9Altho’ his daddie was nae laird,

10 And tho’ I hae nae meikle tocher,

11Yet rich in kindest, truest love,

12 We’ll tent our flocks by Galla Water.

13It ne’er was wealth, it ne’er was wealth,

14 That coft contentment, peace, or pleasure;

15The bands and bliss o’ mutual love,

16 O that’s the chiefest warld’s treasure.

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“Braw Lads o’ Gala Water” by Robert Burns — quilloak.com/poems/braw-lads-o-gala-water

Quick facts

Poem: Braw Lads o’ Gala Water
Poet: Robert Burns
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Love

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 16 lines · 4 quatrains
Line length: Lines run 7-9 syllables (median 9). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

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Text, source & rights

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Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: Robert Burns1759–1796
Source record: PoetryDBBraw Lads o’ Gala Water by robert-burns, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 7a1f819423382edc…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Love

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