Now Westlin' Winds

Poem written by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) in 1785


BURNS IN KIRKOSWALD 1775
MEETING PEGGY THOMSON

"Now, Westlin Winds"– originally titled "Song Composed In August "– was revised several times by Burns with his love interests Peggy Thomson and Jean Armour as subjects in the song, which first appeared in written form in 1785. It has its genesis in 1775 while he was at summer school in Kirkoswald at the time of the 16-year-old Burns’ infatuation with a girl called Peggy, who is Margaret Thomson of Kirkoswald whom Burns described as, ‘a charming fillette who lived next door to the school', and first met in the garden while taking the sun's altitude at noon as the sun entered Virgo (23 August). 'Composed in August' is said to have been inspired when he met her again some years later after she was married in 1784 to William Nielson, an old acquantance of Burns in Kirkoswald.
(Though it cannot be entirely ruled out that the song was composed before 1785 and even to 1775).

Burns wrote in a letter to his friend, Dr Moore, in August 2, 1787:

`I spent my seventeenth summer on a smuggling coast, a good distance from home, at a noted school, to learn mensuration, surveying, dialling, etc., in which I made a pretty good progress. But I made greater progress in the knowledge of mankind. The contraband trade was at that time very successful; scenes of swaggering riot and roaring dissipation were as yet new to me, and I was no enemy to social life. Here, though I learned to look unconcernedly on a large tavern-bill, and mix without fear in a drunken squabble, yet I went on with a high hand in my geometry, till the sun entered Virgo, a month which is always a carnival in my bosom, a charming fillette, who lived next door to the school, overset my trigonometry, and set me off on a tangent from the sphere of my studies. I struggled on with my sines and cosines for a few days more; but stepping out to the garden one charming noon, to take the sun's altitude, there I met my angel,

'Like Proserpine gathering flowers,
Herself a fairer flower.'

It was in vain to think of doing any more good at school. The remaining week I staid I did nothing but craze the faculties of my soul about her, or steal out to meet with her; and the two last nights of my stay in the country, had sleep been a mortal sin, I was innocent. I returned home very considerably improved.


BURNS COMMONPLACE BOOK 1783-1785
MEETING JEAN ARMOUR

The first 8 lines of the song were copied into Burns' first Commonplace Book in August 1785 on page 37, where he recorded ideas and drafts of writings from 1783 to 1785, under the title 'HAR'STE - A Fragment' [meaning hairst, harvest]:

Now breezy win's and slaughtering guns
Bring Autumn's pleasant weather,
And the muir cock springs on whirring wings
Amang the blooming heather
Now waving crops, with yellow tops,
Delight the weary Farmer,
An' the moon shines bright when I rove at night,
To muse on XXXXX XXXXX

Burns's cypher - HAR'STE - A Fragment [Now Westlin Winds] - Commonplace Book page 37 August 1785

The context indicates that two words of five characters each in cipher in the last line following 'I muse on' were probably 'Jean Armour'. Possibly to hide the name 'Jean Armour' from his youngest sister, Isabella. At the time Burns was conducting his affair with Jean Armour, whom he met in April 1784. By 1785 Burns and Jean Armour were in a relationship, and he had intended to marry her as soon as they realised she was pregnant in early 1786, but had been discouraged by her reluctance to disobey her father's disapproval of the union.
Burns affair with Armour may have prompted him to write Jean Armour's name in cipher.
Mrs Isabella Begg remembered Jean Armour being celebrated in one version of the song, now lost, appearing in lines 8 and 40, and Jeanie in line 25.
Later replacing her surname with ‘Charmer’ in lines 8 and 40, and Jeanie for ‘Peggy’ in line 25, as appears in the printed version in the Kilmarnock edition of 1786. Burns uncertain relationship with Jean Armour and his later meeting with Peggy Thomson in this period may have prompted him to change the wording from Jean Armour to Peggy.


BURNS KILMARNOCK EDITION 1786

The completed song was one of three songs included in the Kilmarnock edition of 1786, a collection of Burns' poems requested by him to be printed by John Wilson, with the title SONG, COMPOSED IN AUGUST, and tune, "I had a horse, I had nae mair".

Burns and Jean Armour lived apart for a while, and later reconciled their relationship in 1788. In the light of Burns's new-found celebrity as a poet beginning with the success of the Kilmarnock edition of 1786, James Armour relented and allowed his daughter to be married to him. Although their marriage was registered on 5 August 1788 in Mauchline, the parish records describe them as having been "irregularly married some years ago". She and Burns moved to Ellisland Farm where they stayed until 1791 when they moved to Dumfries, where both would live for the rest of their lives.


SCOTS MUSICAL MUSEUM

Burns came to revive this song for The Scots Musical Museum, but this time to the tune Port Gordon and incorporating more Scots into the piece. 
Scots Musical Museum, by James Johnson, Vol 4 (1792), p.363 (No.351).
Tune [incorrect title]: "Come Kiss wi' me, come clazp wi' me",
[correct title]: "Where the king comes o'er the water".
Burns' intended tune: "Port Gordon"

There appears to be some confusion as to which melody these song lyrics are meant to accompany. According to Glen (1900), this confusion arose because James Johnson wrote down the song title of a completely different melody, "Come Kiss wi' me, come clazp wi' me", instead of "Where the king comes o'er the water".
Burns sent the song to James Johnson for inclusion in Scots Musical Museum. A note in his 'List of songs for 3d volume of Scots Musical Museum', sent to Johnson on 24 April 1789, reads: 'Now Westlin Winds - tune - Port Gordon - Mr Burns words - printed - but he gave in writing some alterations which please observe'
These alterations add to the Scots diction in the opening stanzas.



POEMS, CHIEFLY IN THE SCOTTISH DIALECT, BY ROBERT BURNS. Kilmarnock: printed by John Wilson, 1786, pp. 224-226

SONG, "COMPOSED IN AUGUST".
Tune, "I had a horse, I had nae mair".

Now westlin winds, and slaught'ring guns
Bring Autumn's pleasant weather;
And the moorcock springs, on whirring wings,
Amang the blooming heather:
Now waving grain, wide o'er the plain,
Delights the weary Farmer;
And the moon shines bright, when I rove at night,
To muse upon my Charmer.

The Partridge loves the fruitful fells;
The Plover loves the mountains;
The Woodcock haunts the lonely dells;
The soaring Hern the fountains:
Thro' lofty groves, the Cushat roves,
The path of man to shun it;
The hazel bush o'erhangs the Thrush,
The spreading thorn the Linnet.

Thus ev'ry kind their pleasure find,
The savage and the tender;
Some social join, and leagues combine;
Some solitary wander:
Avaunt, away! the cruel sway,
Tyrannic man's dominion;
The Sportsman's joy, the murd'ring cry,
The flutt'ring, gory pinion!

But PEGGY dear, the ev'ning's clear,
Thick flies the skimming Swallow;
The sky is blue, the fields in view,
All fading-green and yellow:
Come let us stray our gladsome way,
And view the charms of Nature;
The rustling corn, the fruited thorn,
And ev'ry happy creature.

We'll gently walk, and sweetly talk,
Till the silent moon shine clearly;
I'll grasp thy waist, and fondly prest,
Swear how I love thee dearly:
Not vernal show'rs to budding flow'rs,
Not Autumn to the Farmer,
So dear can be, as thou to me,
My fair, my lovely Charmer!



"Now westlin winds"
Scots Musical Museum, by James Johnson, Vol 4 (1792), p.363 (No.351).
Tune [incorrect title]: "Come Kiss wi' me, come clazp wi' me",
[correct title]: "Where the king comes o'er the water"
Burns' intended tune: "Port Gordon"

Now westlin winds, and slaughtering guns
Bring Autumn's pleasant weather;
The gorcock springs, on whirring wings
Amang the blooming heather:
Now waving grain, wide o'er the plain
Delights the weary Farmer,
The moon shines bright, as I rove by night,
To muse upon my charmer.'

The paitrick lo'es the fruitfu' fells
The plover lo'es the mountains
The woodcock haunts the lonely dells
The soaring hern the fountains
Through lofty groves the cushat roves
The path o' man to shun it
The hazel bush o'erhangs the thrush
The spreading thorn, the linnet

Thus every kind their pleasure find
The savage and the tender
Some social join, and leagues combine
Some solitary wander
Avaunt, away, the cruel sway
Tyrannic man's dominion
The sportsman's joy, the murdering cry
The fluttering gory pinion

But, Peggy dear, the evening's clear
Thick flies the skimming swallow
The sky is blue, the fields in view
All fading green and yellow
Come, let us stray our gladsome way
And view the joys of nature
The rustling corn, the fruited thorn
And ilka happy creature

We'll gently walk and sweetly talk
While the silent moon shines clearly
I'll clasp thy waist, and fondly prest
Swear how I lo'e thee dearly
Not vernal showers to budding flowers
Not autumn to the farmer
So dear can be as thou to me
My fair, my lovely charmer


Westlin = from the west
gorcock = a moorcock, or a red or black male grouse
paitrick = partridge
fells = moor covered hills
hern = heron
cushat = wood-pigeon
avaunt = away with you! move on!
gory = bloody
ilka = every
vernal = spring