A wee bit o' Burns

[Sarah]

I remember having to write an essay on Tam O'Shanter that was at Eglinton school..

[Penny Tray]

One night as I did wander,
Where corn begins to shoot,
I sat me down to ponder
Upon an auld tree root
Auld Ayr ran by before me,
And bicker’d to the seas;
A cushat crooded o’er me,
That echoed through the trees.

*ONE NIGHT AS I DID WANDER

[5siamese7]

No less a figure than Hugh MacDiarmid thought that was the most powerful line written by Burns!

Personally, I think the whole verse falls into the 'powerful' category:-

Yestreen, when to the trembling string
The dance gaed thro the lighted ha',
To thee my fancy took its wing,
I sat, but neither heard or saw:
Tho this was fair, and that was braw,
And yon the toast of a' the town,
I sigh'd, and said amang them a' -
'Ye are na Mary Morison.

*MARY MORISON

Well done Penny for picking that up and your right the whole verse makes it more powerful.

[5siamese7]

What you have to understand is that this man was so exceptional that he tackled all sorts of delicate and some illegal carryons with sympathy and i'm sure that as he was laughing he being a humanitarian wished thing were different.

[morag]

Ae fond kiss..timeless.

[Penny Tray]

Had we never lov'd sae kindly,
Had we never lov'd sae blindly,
Never met - or never parted -
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

*AE FOND KISS

[Penny Tray]

I hae been blythe wi comrades dear;
I hae been merry drinking;
I hae been joyfu gath’rin gear;
I hae been happy thinking:
But a’ the pleasures e’er I saw,
Tho three times doubl’d fairly –
That happy night was worth them a’,
Amang the rigs o barley.

*THE RIGS O BARLEY

[Penny Tray]

From thee, Eliza, I must go,
And from my native shore:
The cruel fates between us throw
A boundless ocean’s roar;
But boundless oceans, roaring wide
Between my love and me,
They never, never can divide
My heart and soul from thee.

*FAREWELL TO ELIZA

[brian f]

Curiosity- Has got me again .. Right or wrong- I take it the pupils of Ardrossan Academy had lessons in Burns and Shakespeare.

Can't help you here Brian, I didn't go to the Academy. However, I have no recollection of Robert Burns being mentioned at Winton Primary or Eglinton Junior Secondary schools between 1952 and 1962, and Shakespeare certainly wasn't.

Penny Tray- I also cant recall learning about Burns at school. But maybe am wrong with Hughie posting "My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose" on the Scottish music thread which i can just about remember raises doubts.

[bonzo]

Curiosity- Has got me again .. Right or wrong- I take it the pupils of Ardrossan Academy had lessons in Burns and Shakespeare.

Can't help you here Brian, I didn't go to the Academy. However, I have no recollection of Robert Burns being mentioned at Winton Primary or Eglinton Junior Secondary schools between 1952 and 1962, and Shakespeare certainly wasn't.

Penny Tray- I also cant recall learning about Burns at school. But maybe am wrong with Hughie posting "My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose" on the Scottish music thread which i can just about remember raises doubts.

Brian what school did you go to? I went to glencairn and auchenharvie we always got a bit of burns probably more on the battle of Hastings but hay Ho.

[brian f]

In Ayrshire-bonzo- The Blacklands, Pennyburn primary and Ravenspark. And i have to add i never heard a family member talking Burns. Maybe it's because ootsiders like you and i happened to be born elsewhere

[morag]

In Ayrshire-bonzo- The Blacklands, Pennyburn primary and Ravenspark. And i have to add i never heard a family member talking Burns. Maybe it's because ootsiders like you and i happened to be born elsewhere

I was born in Cleethorpes. Came to Stevenston early 50's Got Burns, Shakespeare, Keats, Browning etc. etc. in primary and secondary..loved it.