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Burns Night
"🎶 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 aboon his might –
Guid faith, he mauna 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 comin yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man the warld o’er
Shall brithers be for a’ that.
~ "A Man's a Man for A' That", Robert Burns, 1795
Happy Burns Night and Happy Birthday , Rabbie! One of the first Robert Burns tribute tartans, this Border check was created in 1959 for the bicentennial of the poet's birth and accepted by the Burns Federation in the same year! It is a coloured variation of a Border tartan weave (also sometimes referred to as Northumbrian tartan, Shepherds' Plaid, Border Drab, or Border check) and is historically associated with the Anglo-Scottish Border, including the Scottish Borders and Northumbria. In the portrait, Burns is shown wearing the maud (plaid) made popular by fashionable Border Scots such as Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, James Hogg, and Henry Scott Riddell. This tartan was created when Baron Marchand of Messrs George Harrison & Co. of Edinburgh was approached by a friend from 'The Scotsman' newspaper with the suggestion that he design a Robert Burns tartan. The first idea had been to base it on the Campbell - a clan with which the Burns family were connected - but after much discussion it was decided to model it on the Shepherd's Check and to introduce an overcheck referencing Rabbie's reference to the 'the hodden grey and a' that' and to include a little flavour of green fields. Sláinte to all celebrating today! ✍️ 🎂 🏴 🥃
It is a matter of recorded fact that Robert Burns wore tartan. From a recollection of William Clark, servant of Robert Burns at Ellisland, near Dumfries, 1789-90:
"Burns when at home, usually wore a blue or drab long-tailed coat, corduroy breeches, dark-blue stockings, and cootikens, and in cold weather a black-and-white checked plaid."
In his poem "The Vision", written in 1786 when Burns was 27 years old, it is significant that he garbs his "native muse" in tartan.
"Down flowed her robe, a tartan sheen,
'till half a leg was scrimply seen..."
His muse is specific to Ayrshire -
"Of these am I - Coila my name:
and this district as mine I claim..."
For more on Robert Burns and the "hodden grey", click the portrait of Burns wearing the maud in a Border Check!