Robert Burns
And waste my soul with care;
But ah! how bootless to admire,
When fated to despair!
Yet in thy presence, lovely Fair ,
To hope may be forgiven;
For sure 'twere impious to despair
So much in sight of heaven.
You can find a really good recitation and some background information of the verse here by BBC.
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Similarly themed song
Literal translation thanks to Wikisauce:
By a head of a thoroughbred horse
who slackens in the final stretch,
and afterward when it returns seems to say:
"Remember, brother, you don't lose when you don't play."
Lost again by a head: the infatuation of a day
for a flirt who promises while she smiles
and tells lies about love
yet my whole heart burns for her.
By a head!
It's madness
but a lying mouth that kisses
still drives away sadness
and soothes the bitterness.
By a head!
If she forgets me
I'll lose everything that matters.
Life is a thousand broken promises--
but why live at all?
How many disappointments were lost by a head?
I swore a thousand times to stop pushing my luck.
It's no pleasant sight to watch a man lose.
Yet I remember the burn from her lips and want another kiss.
I'm done with races. No more foolish chances.
I won't return to see the bitter end.
But then next Sunday I'll think some filly is a sure thing.
I'll gamble; I'll find out. What else can I do?
