Rabbie Burns
Today is the Birthday of Scotland’s Greatest Poet, Robert Burns (1759 – 1796). So prodigious and influential was the work of this Son of Scotland, that he has come to be known as one of their Great National Heroes, and generations of Scots have been honoring him on his birthday.
Every year on Januray 25th, Scots all around the world gather for Burns Suppers, celebrations of the life and works of Robert Burns and, ultimately, of Scotland herself. The first known supper was held in 1801, but Burns’ friends almost certainly held them prior to that. Typical dishes include Cock-A-Lee Soup, Neeps, Stoved Tatties, Midlothian Oatcakes, and, of course, Haggis. The Haggis is preceeded by a piper, and before it is cut, a speaker must recite An Address to a Haggis
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o’ the puddin-race!
Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace
As lang’s my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o’ need,
While thro’ your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.
The evening ends with Burns’ most popularly-known work, Auld Lang Syne.
4 Responses to “Rabbie Burns”
A quibble. Cock-a-Leekie soup. “..must be very thick of leeks, and the first part of them must be boiled down into the soup until it becomes a lubricous compound.”
I looked at this and thought “Rabbi Burns?” Who’s Rabbi Burns?
O Wert Thou In The Cauld Blast
O wert thou in the cauld blast,
On yonder lea, on yonder lea,
My plaidie to the angry airt,
I’d shelter thee, I’d shelter thee;
Or did Misfortune’s bitter storms
Around thee blaw, around thee blaw,
Thy bield should be my bosom,
To share it a’, to share it a’.
Or were I in the wildest waste,
Sae black and bare, sae black and bare,
The desert were a Paradise,
If thou wert there, if thou wert there;
Or were I Monarch o’ the globe,
Wi’ thee to reign, wi’ thee to reign,
The brightest jewel in my Crown
Wad be my Queen, wad be my Queen.
(SIGH) One of my very favorites. Hardly none say it better. God bless ye, Robert Burns!
http://www.robertburns.org/
Just a wee aside. He was never known as Rabbie or Rabbi Burns. He was always known as Robert.
If ye have time or inclination, visit us at
http://www.robert-burns.eu
to see our own personal tribute.