Lyric Poem · Love

The Farewell to the Brethren of St. James’s Lodge, Tarbolton

by Robert Burns

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1ADIEU! a heart-warm fond adieu;

2 Dear brothers of the mystic tie!

3Ye favourèd, enlighten’d few,

4 Companions of my social joy;

5Tho’ I to foreign lands must hie,

6 Pursuing Fortune’s slidd’ry ba’;

7With melting heart, and brimful eye,

8 I’ll mind you still, tho’ far awa.

9Oft have I met your social band,

10 And spent the cheerful, festive night;

11Oft, honour’d with supreme command,

12 Presided o’er the sons of light:

13And by that hieroglyphic bright,

14 Which none but Craftsmen ever saw

15Strong Mem’ry on my heart shall write

16 Those happy scenes, when far awa.

17May Freedom, Harmony, and Love,

18 Unite you in the grand Design,

19Beneath th’ Omniscient Eye above,

20 The glorious Architect Divine,

21That you may keep th’ unerring line,

22 Still rising by the plummet’s law,

23Till Order bright completely shine,

24 Shall be my pray’r when far awa.

25And you, farewell! whose merits claim

26 Justly that highest badge to wear:

27Heav’n bless your honour’d noble name,

28 To Masonry and Scotia dear!

29A last request permit me here,—

30 When yearly ye assemble a’,

31One round, I ask it with a tear,

32 To him, the Bard that’s far awa.

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“The Farewell to the Brethren of St. James’s Lodge, Tarbolton” by Robert Burns — quilloak.com/poems/the-farewell-to-the-brethren-of-st-jamess-lodge-tarbolton

Quick facts

Poem: The Farewell to the Brethren of St. James’s Lodge, Tarbolton
Poet: Robert Burns
Length: 32 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Love, Peace, Sad

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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: 32 lines · 4 octaves
Line length: Mostly 8-syllable lines (tetrameter length).

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Author record: Robert Burns1759–1796
Source record: PoetryDBThe Farewell to the Brethren of St. James’s Lodge, Tarbolton 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 f72e49aaeae6a2f1…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Love Peace Sad

The Farewell to the Brethren of St. James’s Lodge, Tarbolton

Quick facts

How this poem works

A traceable edition

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