A little bit of Culture...  Poetry from soc.culture.irish

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Posted by Tony Dermody
on:    17 September 2000

Damn the healthy living. I'd give my right arm for a pint of Caledonian Sixty Shilling ale and the house ham sandwich in the Old Ship Inn in Perth. It has to be tasted to be believed. To assuage the craving I'll quote a Robert Burns poem instead.

A Man's a Man for A' That
Robert Burns

The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns
New Lanark: Geddes & Grosset Ltd, 2002

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.


I didn't type all that out either!

See: http://www.robertburns.org/works/496.shtml for the poem and http://www.robertburns.org/works/ for the complete Burns. The poem seems to have been written in late 1794 and was published in 1795. ...

I rate Burns as one of the premier poets in the English language. Unfortunately his reputation suffered for a long time because most of his nineteenth-century editors tried to erase large parts of the earthy engagement with life which permeates his work, so that, suitably expunged, he could occupy with decorum the position of Scottish national bard, which they had prepared for him.

The expunged Burns would not offend even the most puritanical mind. Fortunately, Burns's real work has been resurrected and his reputation has been on the up and up since about the 1930s.


--- The End ---

Questions? Comments? -K. E. Dennis

Poetry Worldwide  (all else....)

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