Comin Thro' the Rye by Robert Burns
Analysis
"Comin Thro' the Rye" is a poem written by Robert Burns. This poem became a popular and traditional children's song that was put to the same melody as "Common' Frae The Town". Despite being a poem sung by children later on, it is full of sexual and explicit images. Here are some short translations for words you might have trouble with: weet = wet. draigl't = draggled. gin = if/should. warl = world. ken = know. ain = own. This poem is perhaps best known due to the book "The Catcher in the Rye" because the protagonist of the story mininterprets the poem to mean "if a body catch a body" instead of "if a body meet a body".
This poem is written as five stanzas with four lines in each. It is rhymed as ABAB.
Poem
Comin Thro' the Rye O, Jenny's a' weet, poor body, Jenny's seldom dry: She draigl't a' her petticoatie, Comin thro' the rye! Comin thro' the rye, poor body, Comin thro' the rye, She draigl't a' her petticoatie, Comin thro' the rye! Gin a body meet a body Comin thro' the rye, Gin a body kiss a body, Need a body cry? Gin a body meet a body Comin thro' the glen, Gin a body kiss a body, Need the warl' ken? Gin a body meet a body Comin thro' the grain; Gin a body kiss a body, The thing's a body's ain. Written in 1782
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