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Description: | The first page of a poem of two pages which Burns first inclosed in a letter to Mrs Dunlop dated 5th February 1789 whose first line is 'Flow gently sweet Afton, among thy green braes'. The six verse lyrics were to be one of Burns's contributions to Johnson's Musical Museum.
Burns copied this version of the poem to pages 46 & 47 of a collection of his then unpublished works known as the Afton Lodge MS. This book of poems was given by Burns to Catherine Stewart, a devotee of his works and wife of Alexander Stewart of Stair.
Burns imagines his lady-love Mary asleep on the banks of the Afton burn, concerned that the clamour of the calling of the doves, blackbirds and green plovers will disturb her dreams. He then envisages the shepherd on the neighbouring hills looking down on the Afton valley below, and in the evening conjures up the sights and fragrance of the primrose and birch covering its banks. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 | Publisher: | Burns Monument Trust | Temporal: | 1791-01-01 - 1791-12-31 | Source: | Burns Scotland | Identifier: | Poem by Robert Burns: 'Sweet Afton - a S | Go to resource |
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