A Man’s a Man for a’ That
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 hoddin 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 aboon his might – Guid faith, he mauna 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 comin yet for a' that, That Man to Man the warld o'er Shall brithers be for a' that.
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Robert Burns Poems
- A Sonnet upon Sonnets
- To a Mouse
- A Red, Red Rose
- Address to the Deil
- Epistle to a Young Friend. May, 1786
- Holy Willie’s Prayer
- John Anderson my Jo
- Mary Morison
- Poor Mailie’s Elegy
- Scots Wha Hae, or, Robert Bruce’s Address to His Troops at Bannockburn
- Tam o’ Shanter. A Tale
- To a Louse, On Seeing one on a Lady’s Bonnet at Church
- Up in the Morning Early
- Epistle to Davie, a Brother Poet
- Address of Beelzebub
- Epitaph on my own Friend
- A Man’s a Man for a’ That
- The Silver Tassie
- Afton Water
- The Cotter’s Saturday Night
- O, Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast
- Address to a Haggis
- Here’s a health to them that’s awa