People remember the “Bard of Ayrshire” Robert Burns for his “Auld Lang Syne” and for his long list of songs and poems. People remember him as the great poet of Scotland and for being one of the early founders of Romanticism. Robert Burns must also be remembered for his early inspiration of the human movement toward empathy, equality and compassion. Robert Burns’ position was considered radical in his time, a time that coincided with two giant steps in the Human march toward Progress—the American and the French Revolutions.[1] Here is his poem, his song, his prophesy—the wonderful words, two-centuries auld—that foretold what we now are knowing—a man is a man, for all that, and we shall brothers be, for once and for all—and for all that![2]




“A Man’s A Man For A’ That” by Robert Burns[3], 1795

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, and’ a’ that,
Our toils obscure an’ a’ that,
The rank is but the guinea’s stamp,
The Man’s the gold for a’ that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an’ a’ that;
Give 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 so poor,
Is king o’ men for a’ that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca’d a lord,
Who struts, an’ stares, an’ a’ that;
Tho’ hundreds worship at his word,
He’s but a coof for a’ that;
For a’ that, and’ a’ that,
His ribband, star, an’ a’ that:
The man o’ independent mind
He looks an’ laughs at a’ that.

A prince can make a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an’ a’ that;
But an honest man’s abon his might,
Good faith, he mustn’t fa’ that!
For a’ that, and’ a’ that,
Their dignities an’ a’ that;
The pith o’ sense, an’ pride o’ worth,
Are higher rank that 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, and’ a’ that,
It’s coming yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man, the world o’er,
Shall brothers be for a’ that.


Image: Robert Burns statue by David Watson Stevenson, Leith. It was unveiled on October 15, 1898. (Photo author Kim Traynor, file licensed under Creative Commons)[4]

[1] See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/enlightenment/features_enlightenment_radicals.shtml

[2] Listen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2pGWkjwOBw for a stirring song, hie thee!

[3] See: http://www.robertburns.org/works/496.shtml

[4] See: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Burns_statue,_Bernard_Street.jpg – Used without author’s permission for educational purposes.