Had I A Cave

by Robert Burns

Had I a cave on some wild, distant shore,
Where the winds howl to the waves' dashing roar:
There would I weep my woes,
There seek my lost repose,
Till grief my eyes should close,
Ne'er to wake more.

Falsest of womankind, canst thou declare
All thy fond, plighted vows - fleeting as air!
To thy new lover hie,
Laugh o'er thy perjury,
Then in thy bosom try
What peace is there!

Notes to the poem:

This song gives expression to the disappointment of a friend of Burns's, Mr. Alexander Cunningham, who had been cruelly jilted for a wealthier suitor, a solicitor in Edinburgh.

Now Spring Has Clad The Grove In Green, was written to soothe this same friends' feelings.