John Anderson My Jo -- Robert Burns

continuing the Scottish theme...

(Poem #19) John Anderson My Jo John Anderson my jo, John, When we were first acquent, Your locks were like the raven, Your bonny brow was brent; But now your brow is bled, John, Your locks are like the straw, But blessings on your frosty pow, John Anderson my jo! John Anderson my jo, John, We clamb the hill thegither And monie a cantie day, John, We've had wi' ane anither; Now we maun totter down, John, And hand in hand we'll go, And sleep thegither at the foot, John Anderson my jo! -- Robert Burns

Glossary of Scots words:

jo - joy, sweetheart (a favourite of Scrabble players :-))
acquent - acquainted
brent - smooth
beld - bald
pow - head
cantie - cheerful
maun - must

Not many Englishmen remember the Bard's birthday (the 23rd of April, if
you *must* know), but any Scotsman worth his haggis will tell you that
Robert Burns was born on the 25th of January - Burns Day. Indeed, Burns'
reputation as a national poet has just gone up and up, ever since he
dazzled Edinburgh society at the age of 26 with the publication of
'Highland Ballads' (a collection of his own verse and his adaptations of
traditional Scottish lyrics (over 200 of them!) collected painstakingly
over the years).

Burns was one of the forerunners of the Romantic movement, a fact that's
very evident in his verse - his use of dialect (some of which, to be
frank, would be as untelligible to his original Edinburgh audience as it
is to us today), his glorification of sensuality, his love of food and
drink and song, of toasting and carousing, his passion for all things
Scottish... yet through it all he remains a wonderfully lyrical poet.
His phrases reverberate in your head lng after the *content* of his
poems is forgotten.

thomas.