Written in 1790 in a single day and first published in 1791 as a
contribution to Grose's _Antiquities of Scotland_, it has been called "a
masterpiece of Scottish character, Scottish humor, Scottish witch-lore,
and Scottish imagination." Burns himself considered it to be his finest
poem.
[14] 1. =Chapman billies=; pedlar fellows.
[15] 2. =Drouthy=; thirsty.
[16] 4. =Tak the gate=; take the road.
[17] 5. =Nappy=; liquor.
[18] 6. =Fou=; tipsy.
[19] 6. =Unco=; very.
[20] 8. =Slaps=; gates in fences.
[21] 14. =Frae=; from.
[22] 14. =Ayr=; a town in Ayrshire, Scotland, on the west coast about
thirty miles south of Glasgow. Near it is the birthplace of Burns.
[23] 19. =Skellum=; ne'er-do-well.
[24] 20. =Blethering=; talking nonsense.
[25] 20. =Blellum=; babbler.
[26] 23. =Ilka=; every.
[27] 23. =Melder=; corn or grain sent to the mill to be ground.
[28] 25. =Ca'd=; driven.
[29] 30. =Doon=; a river near Ayr immortalized in Burns's song, "Ye
banks and braes of bonny Doon."
[30] 31. =Warlocks=; wizards.
[31] 31. =Mirk=; dark.
[32] 32. =Alloway=; a small town near Ayr, Scotland.
[33] 32. =Kirk=; church.
[34] 33. =Gars me greet=; makes me weep.
[35] 38. =Planted=; fixed.
[36] 39. =Ingle=; fireside.
[37] 40. =Reaming swats=; foaming new ale.
[38] 41. =Souter=; shoemaker.
[39] 68. =Maun=; must.
[40] 78. =The Deil=; the Devil.
[41] 81. =Skelpit=; hurried.
[42] 81. =Dub=; puddle.
[43] 86. =Bogles=; bogies or goblins.
[44] 88. =Houlets=; owls.
[45] 90. =Smoored=; smothered.
[46] 91. =Birks=; birches.
[47] 91. =Meikle stane=; huge stone.
[48] 93. =Whins=; furze bushes.
[49] 93. =Cairn=; pile of stones.
[50] 94. =Bairn=; child.
[51] 102. =Bleeze=; blaze.
[52] 103. =Bore=; hole.
[53] 105. =John Barleycorn=; a Scotch term for whiskey.
[54] 108. =Usquebae=; whiskey.
[55] 110. =Boddle=; farthing.
[56] 116. =Brent=; brought.
[57] 117. =Strathspeys.= The strathspey was a Scottish dance.
[58] 119. =Winnock-bunker=; window-seat.
[59] 121. =Towzie tyke=; shaggy dog.
[60] 123. =Gart them skirl=; made them shriek.
[61] 124. =Dirl=; ring.
[62] 127. =Cantrip slight=; magic charm.
[63] 134. =Gab=; throat.
[64] 147. =Cleekit=; took hold.
[65] 148. =Carlin=; witch.
[66] 149. =Coost her duddies=; threw off her clothes.
[67] 150. =Linket=; tripped.
[68] 150. =Sark=; shirt.
[69] 151. =Queans=; young women.
[70] 153. =Creeshie flannen=; greasy flannel.
[71] 154. =Seventeen-hunder linen=; fine linen. Technical weaving terms
were familiar to the hand-loom workers of Burns's district.
[72] 157. =Hurdies=; hips.
[73] 158. =Burdies=; maidens.
[74] 159. =Beldams=; hags.
[75] 160. =Rigwoodie=; ancient.
[76] 160. =Spean=; wean.
[77] 161. =Crummock=; a short staff.
[78] 163. =Brawlie=; perfectly.
[79] 164. =Walie=; large.
[80] 165. =Core=; corps.
[81] 169. =Bear=; barley.
[82] 171. =Cutty-sark=; short shirt.
[83] 171. =Paisley harn=; a coarse cloth, made in Paisley, a Scotch town
famous for its cloth-making industry.
[84] 174. =Vauntie=; proud.
[85] 176. =Coft=; bought.
[86] 181. =Lap and flang=; leapt and capered.
[87] 184. =E'en=; eyes.
[88] 185. =Fidged fu' fain=; fidgeted with eagerness.
[89] 186. =Hotched=; jerked his arm while playing the bagpipe.
[90] 187. =Syne=; then.
[91] 188. =Tint=; lost.
[92] 193. =Fyke=; fret.
[93] 194. =Byke=; hive.
[94] 200. =Eldritch=; unearthly.
[95] 201. =Fairin'=; reward.
[96] 208. According to an old superstition, witches are unable to pursue
their victims over running water. Compare the story of the Headless
Horseman in Irving's _The Legend of Sleepy Hollow_.
[97] 213. =Ettle=; aim.