- 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 hodden 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 abon his might,
- Gude faith, he maunna 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 coming yet for a’ that,
- That Man to Man, the world o’er,
- Shall brothers be for a’ that.
If you’re struggling to work out what Burns is saying and the wider meaning, have a look at https://allpoetry.com/A-Man’s-A-Man-For-A’-That, where you’ll find a synopsis……in English! There are many other sites too that provide line by line translations – just google it……..
I would also recommend this short article by Patrick J Walsh entitled ‘Robert Burns – Winter’s Poet of the People’; it provides a Christian perspective on Burns’ poetry and song: http://www.thechristianreview.com/robert-burns-winters-poet-of-the-people/
Walsh finishes his article with these words with which I concur: ‘There is a mystery and eternal element to poetry. Burns needs no defense. Poetry defends itself by surviving. Listening at my window. I hear winter still whispering in its own white way as it did in Burns’s time. And in a fallen world such as ours, mankind will continue to seek the echoes of their own fallen greatness in his rhymes’.