thou best and dearest

not unconnected to this morning's earlier post, comes a lament of a different kind. another offering from the BBC's long-running Transatlantic Sessions*, this is too gorgeous not to share.
Joel's been on something of a Shakespeare fix of late. so for that, and because our own story is woven with letters across distance - ours and those from other pens -- this offering from the great bard i was raised on, is for him...

(this song was written in a letter to Agnes M'Lehose, or 'Clarinda', also known as 'Nancy' to her friends in December 1791, when she left Burns, and Scotland, to follow her husband to Jamaica to try to save her marriage. see wiki)

Nancy was one of many 'loves', but for a' that, the human heart has rarely been expressed with more ache or more tender beauty...

Ae Fond Kiss, And Then We Sever
by Robert Burns
Song; 1791
Tune: Rory Dall's Port.
(words below the video)

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, alas, for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
Who shall say that Fortune grieves him,
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerful twinkle lights me;
Dark despair around benights me.

I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy,
Naething could resist my Nancy:
But to see her was to love her;
Love but her, and love for ever.
Had we never lov'd sae kindly,
Had we never lov'd sae blindly,
Never met-or never parted,
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

Fare-thee-weel, thou first and fairest!
Fare-thee-weel, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!
Ae fareweel, alas, for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.

LB
* edited to add -- there's a cracking session with Aly Bain and transatlantic friends at that link. jerry douglas and others play to perfection with james taylor in a slower session here. one of my favourite songs of all time. you can't go wrong with these folk start playing... blissful way to spend a sunday listening to these sessions...