| 1. |
| 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 of a grace |
As lang’s my arm.
|
| 2. |
| 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.
|
| 3. |
| His knife see rustic Labour dight, |
| An’ cut ye up wi’ ready slight, |
| Trenching your gushing entrails bright, |
| Like onie ditch ; |
| And then, O what a glorious sight, |
Warm-reekin, rich !
|
| 4. |
| Then, horn for horn, they stretch an’
strive : |
| Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive, |
| Till a’ their weel-swall’d kytes belyve |
| Are bent like drums ; |
| Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive, |
‘Bethankit ! ’ hums.
|
| 5. |
| Is there that owre his French
ragout, |
| Or olio that wad staw a sow, |
| Or fricassee wad mak her spew |
| Wi’ perfect sconner, |
| Looks down wi’ sneering, scornfu’ view |
On sic a dinner ?
|
| 6. |
| Poor devil ! see him owre his trash, |
| As feckless as a wither’d rash, |
| His spindle shank a guid whip-lash, |
| His nieve a nit ; |
| Thro’ bluidy flood or field to dash, |
O how unfit !
|
| 7. |
| But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed, |
| The trembling earth resounds his tread. |
| Clap in his walie nieve a blade, |
| He’ll make it whissle ; |
| An’ legs, an’ arms, an’ heads will sned |
Like taps o’ thrissle.
|
| 8. |
| Ye Pow’rs, wha mak mankind your care, |
| And dish them out their bill o’ fare, |
| Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware, |
| That jaups in luggies ; |
| But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer, |
Gie her a Haggis !
|
| Robert Burns
| Classic Poems |
| |
|
[ A Red, Red Rose ] [ To a Mountain Daisy ] [ Address to a Haggis ] [ Address to Edinburgh ] [ Auld Lang Syne ] [ Is there for Honest Poverty ] [ Address to the Unco Guid ] [ The Cotter's Saturday Night ] [ To a Louse ] [ My Heart's in the Highlands ] [ Holy Willie's Prayer ] [ Tam O'Shanter ] [ To a Mouse ] |
