Poem Coming through the rye, Robert Burns

"Comin' Thro' the Rye" is a poem written in 1782 by Robert Burns (1759–1796). 

It is well known as a traditional children's song, with the words put to the melody of the Scottish MinstrelCommon' Frae The Town. This is a variant of the tune to which Auld Lang Syne is usually sung—in fact the melodic shape is practically the same, the difference lying in the tempo and rhythm.

The title of the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger comes from the poem's name. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, misinterprets a part of this poem to mean "if a body catch a body" rather than "if a body meet a body." He keeps picturing children playing in a field of rye near the edge of a cliff, and him catching them when they start to fall off.


"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!

Chorus:
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?

(chorus)

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the glen
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warl' ken?

(chorus)

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the grain;
Gin a body kiss a body,
The thing's a body's ain.

(chorus)

Ilka lassie has her laddie,
Nane, they say, ha’e I
Yet all the lads they smile on me,
When comin' thro' the rye.



They are many cover versions:

• The song was covered by Marian Anderson in 1944

• The song was covered by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1956 as ‘Rockin' Through The Rye’. 

• The song was covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks for their 1960 album Around the World with The Chipmunks.

• The song was covered by The Real McKenzies for their 2005 album "10,000 Shots."