Lyric Poem · Sad
The Farewell
by Robert Burns
1FAREWELL, old Scotia’s bleak domains,
2Far dearer than the torrid plains,
3 Where rich ananas blow!
4Farewell, a mother’s blessing dear!
5A borther’s sigh! a sister’s tear!
6 My Jean’s heart-rending throe!
7Farewell, my Bess! tho’ thou’rt bereft
8 Of my paternal care.
9A faithful brother I have left,
10 My part in him thou’lt share!
11 Adieu, too, to you too,
12 My Smith, my bosom frien’;
13 When kindly you mind me,
14 O then befriend my Jean!
15What bursting anguish tears my heart;
16From thee, my Jeany, must I part!
17 Thou, weeping, answ’rest—“No!”
18Alas! misfortune stares my face,
19And points to ruin and disgrace,
20 I for thy sake must go!
21Thee, Hamilton, and Aiken dear,
22 A grateful, warm adieu:
23I, with a much-indebted tear,
24 Shall still remember you!
25 All hail then, the gale then,
26 Wafts me from thee, dear shore!
27 It rustles, and whistles
28 I’ll never see thee more!
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“The Farewell” by Robert Burns — quilloak.com/poems/the-farewell
Quick facts
- Poem
- The Farewell
- Poet
- Robert Burns
- Length
- 28 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Sad, 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
- 28 lines · 2 stanzas of 14 lines
- Line length
- Lines run 6-8 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Robert Burns1759–1796
- Source record
- PoetryDBThe Farewell 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 63b3cba96f057269…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.