Happy Birthday Rabbie.

[joette]

As his two hundred & fiftieth is coming up I thought we could not let it pass without commerating it in some way.

So perhaps we can all do our party piece & pass it on around the World.
Here's mine

Ae Fond Kiss
by Robert Burns

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever
Ae farewell, and then forever
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and goans I'll wage thee.

Who shall say that Fortune grieves him,
While the star of hope she leaves him
Me nae cheerful twinkle lights me,
Dark despair around benights me.

I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy:
Nothing could resist my Nancy
But to see her was to love her
Love but her, and love for ever.

Had we never loe'd sae kindly,
Had we never loe'd sae blindly,
Never met - nor never parted -
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

Fare thee weel, thou first and fairest
Fare thee weel, thou best and dearest
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever
Ae farewell, alas, for ever
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.

[Montrose Budie]

For my all time favourite, I'd probably go for ...........

A Man's a Man for a' That

Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an' a' that;
The coward slave-we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that.
Our toils obscure an' a' that,
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The Man's the gowd for a' that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an' a that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A Man's a Man for a' that:
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, an' a' that;
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that:
For a' that, an' a' that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that:
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
But an honest man's abon his might,
Gude faith, he maunna fa' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their dignities an' a' that;
The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.

Refer to many websites for a 'translation' of the Lallans words whose meaning you may not recognise.

'Tae a Mouse' and 'Tae a Louse' would closely follow (the latter contains the essential Burns quotation, - 'O wid some poo'er the giftie gie us tae see oorsels as ithers see us'), - plus 'Holy Wullie's Prayer' and many more........


I'd happily post here his epic poem 'Tam O'Shanter' except that it's quite long (as one would expect from an epic pome!).


I've recited Tam O'Shanter at several Burns Suppers over the years, and developed the artifice of having the lighting level slowly reduced, and then, when it came to the scene in Alloway Auld Kirk, having someone next to me slowly raise a lit candle at the appropriate point during the ongauins in Alloway Auld Kirk !

In the context of Tam O'Shanter, I always greatly 'enjoy' asking folk which Scottish poet penned the following lines.....

But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flow'r, its bloom is shed;
Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white-then melts for ever;
Or like the Borealis race,
That flit ere you can point their place;
Or like the Rainbow's lovely form
Evanishing amid the storm.

The answer being Burns! , as part of Tam O'Shanter. There are similar 'English' language 'intrusions' in other works of Burns.

There's a mistaken belief out there that Rabbie was uneducated. That's a travesty of the true situation, in that his father engaged a private tutor for young Robert and others in Alloway, followed, in the case of Robert, by further education in Ayr.

mb

[WilmaM]

Selkirk Grace by Robert Burns

Some hae meat and canna eat,
and some wad eat that want it,
but we hae meat and we can eat,
and sae the Lord be thankit.

[DavidMK]

I too would vote for "A man's a man for a' that" for me it sums up what Burns was all about. However i must put in a plug for the one he wrote about my relative Ann Park.

The Gowden Locks of Anna

Yestreen I had a pint o' wine,
A place where body saw na;
Yestreen lay on this breast o' mine
The gowden locks of Anna.

The hungry Jew in wilderness,
Rejoicing o'er his manna,
Was naething to my hinny bliss
Upon the lips of Anna.

Ye monarchs, take the East and West
Frae Indus to Savannah;
Gie me, within my straining grasp,
The melting form of Anna:

There I'll despise Imperial charms,
An Empress or Sultana,
While dying raptures in her arms
I give and take wi' Anna!

Awa, thou flaunting God of Day!
Awa, thou pale Diana!
Ilk Star, gae hide thy twinkling ray,
When I'm to meet my Anna!

Come, in thy raven plumage, Night,
(Sun, Moon, and Stars, withdrawn a';)
And bring an angel-pen to write
My transports with my Anna!

Postscript

The Kirk an' State may join an' tell,
To do sic things I maunna:
The Kirk an' State may gae to hell,
And I'll gae to my Anna.

She is the sunshine o' my e'e,
To live but her I canna;
Had I on earth but wishes three,
The first should be my Anna.

David

[joette]

As Burns was a musician so much of his works lends itself to music.
It was a tradition at school to listen to a version of Tam -O- Shanter set to music at Hallooween.I would be sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the
"Weel done Cutty Sark".
My Granny was the translator for much of his Lallans.

I am amazed at his wit,his insight & his humanity.

Apart from "Happy Birthday" Auld Lang Syne must be one of the most popular songs of all times.

[rye470]

Hi All,

I'm doing my bit too.

The soup's ready, the haggis has been thawed (had to get it online), and the tatties and neeps are peeled. The table is set and ready for my guests tomorrow night. I have twelve sitting down to celebrate the bards birthday.

I've given them all a poem they have to learn and recite after dinner. This should be fun. With the exception of my husband and I, the company will consist of 7 English and 3 Americans.

Maybe I should give a prize for the most authentic accent.


Have a good one.


Christine.

[Currie]

It’s a little known fact that in 1785 Robert Burns invented the W*ldc*rd.

While new-ca'd kye rowte at the ftake,
An' pownies reek in pleugh or braik,
This hour on e'enin's edge I take,
To own I'm debtor
To honest-hearted, auld L*****k,
For his kind letter.

Read on ……………………
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=e0s ... J&pg=PA202


Robbie Burns wrote in 1787 in the dedication of his first Edinburgh edition.

“The Poetic Genius of my Country found me as the prophetic bard Elijah did Elisha—at the plough; and threw her inspiring mantle over me. She bade me sing the loves, the joys, the rural scenes and rural pleasures of my natal Soil, in my native tongue: I tuned my wild, artless notes as she inspired …………... “

Alan

[wini]

John Anderson my Jo

John Anderson my Jo, John
When we were first acquent,
Your locks were like the raven, Your bonie brow was brent,
But now your brow is beld, John,
Your locks are like the snow;
But blessings on your frosty pow,
John Anderson my Jo.

John Anderson my Jo, John,
We clamb the hill thegither,
And mony a canty day, John,
We've had wi' ane anither,
Now we mon totter down, John,
And hand in hand we'll go,
And sleep thegither at the foot,
John Anderson, my Jo.

Had to learn it at school and I have never forgotten it, it just seems a little more poignant now after 50 years of marriage.

Happy Burns Day to ane and a'

wini

[Montrose Budie]

It’s a little known fact that in 1785 Robert Burns invented the W*ldc*rd.

While new-ca'd kye rowte at the ftake,
An' pownies reek in pleugh or braik,
This hour on e'enin's edge I take,
To own I'm debtor
To honest-hearted, auld L*****k,
For his kind letter.

Read on ……………………
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=e0s ... J&pg=PA202

I like it ! In fact I'll include this in a future lecture on wildcards.

Robbie Burns wrote in 1787 in the dedication of his first Edinburgh edition.

“The Poetic Genius of my Country found me as the prophetic bard Elijah did Elisha—at the plough; and threw her inspiring mantle over me. She bade me sing the loves, the joys, the rural scenes and rural pleasures of my natal Soil, in my native tongue: I tuned my wild, artless notes as she inspired …………... “

Alan

See also 'But pleasures are like poppies spread, ...... " above; and this is a man that some biographers still maintain was uneducated. He was first privately educated by a tutor engaged by his father, then went to the Ayr Academy of the time.

Brilliant poetry in Lallans, more than capable in verse and prose in Engllish!

mb

[TAFKAM]

A personal favourite of mine has to be "Sic a Wife as Willie Had" - the poor woman.

"She has an e'e, she has but one,
The cat has twa the very colour;
Five rusty teeth, foreby a stump,
A clapper tongue wad cleave a miller;
A whiskin beard about her mou',
her nose an' chin they threaten ither;
Sic a wife as Willie had,
I wadnae gie a button for her"

I'm sure Willie Wastle was the Brad Pitt of his day, eh????

Whisky tae the sky - cheers Robert. Here's to your genius.