tree_and_leaf (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tree_and_leaf) wrote2006-01-25 03:38 pm
tree_and_leaf) wrote2006-01-25 03:38 pm
Happy Burns Night!
In honour of Scotland's most famous poet (not, in fact, our best, but we love him anyway), born today in 1759, I bring you one of his finest lyrics - no, not 'My luve is like a red, red rose', though that's good also...
Robert Burns, 1795
Is there, for honest poverty
That hings his head, and a' that
The coward-slave, we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, and a' that
Our toils obscure , and a' that,
The rank is but the the guinea's stamp
The Man's the gowd for a' that.
2. What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hodden grey, and 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 and a' that;
The honest man, though e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.
3. Ye see yon birkie ca'd a lord,
Wha struts and stares for a' that;
Though hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a cuif for a' that:
For a' that and a' that,
His ribband, star and a' that;
The man of independendant mind,
He looks and laughs at a' that.
4. A Prince can mak' a belted Knight,
A marquis, duke and a' that;
But an honest man's aboon his might,
Gude faith he mauna fa' that!
For a' that and a' that,
Their dignities and a' that;
The pith o' sense and pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.
5. Then let us pray that come it may,
as come it will for a' that,
That sense and worth, oe'r a' the earth,
May bear the gree and a' that:
For a' that and a' that,
it's coming yet for a' that
That man to man the warld o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.
But minus points to the idiot at BBC Scotland <href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/burnsnight/poetry/guide_mans_a_man.shtml"> who thinks that the phrase 'manners maketh man' is a pro aristocratic slogan - it means, of course, that how you behave reveals who you are (not birth) and as such is, basically, pointing the same moral as Burns....
Oddly enough 'Pride o' worth' always used to be the motto of the Scottish Examination Board - no idea if it still is now they call themselves the Scottish Qualifications Agency.
Robert Burns, 1795
Is there, for honest poverty
That hings his head, and a' that
The coward-slave, we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, and a' that
Our toils obscure , and a' that,
The rank is but the the guinea's stamp
The Man's the gowd for a' that.
2. What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hodden grey, and 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 and a' that;
The honest man, though e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.
3. Ye see yon birkie ca'd a lord,
Wha struts and stares for a' that;
Though hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a cuif for a' that:
For a' that and a' that,
His ribband, star and a' that;
The man of independendant mind,
He looks and laughs at a' that.
4. A Prince can mak' a belted Knight,
A marquis, duke and a' that;
But an honest man's aboon his might,
Gude faith he mauna fa' that!
For a' that and a' that,
Their dignities and a' that;
The pith o' sense and pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.
5. Then let us pray that come it may,
as come it will for a' that,
That sense and worth, oe'r a' the earth,
May bear the gree and a' that:
For a' that and a' that,
it's coming yet for a' that
That man to man the warld o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.
But minus points to the idiot at BBC Scotland <href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/burnsnight/poetry/guide_mans_a_man.shtml"> who thinks that the phrase 'manners maketh man' is a pro aristocratic slogan - it means, of course, that how you behave reveals who you are (not birth) and as such is, basically, pointing the same moral as Burns....
Oddly enough 'Pride o' worth' always used to be the motto of the Scottish Examination Board - no idea if it still is now they call themselves the Scottish Qualifications Agency.