Robert Burns - To A Mouse - Poem

[kafenster]

The way he talks makes me laugh sooooo hard! XD

[crazylegs654]

Thats a true scottish accent

[zebralady1997]

Verry thick scottish aksent! 😃 Bouriful voice and poem.

[booksmiley4]

It's great to hear it in its original form and not the weak anglicized version :)

[Sandgooose]

In the grand scheme of mice and men:

Often go askew

And leave us nothing but grief and pain

For promised joy

[cooldude5583381]

its tea a mouse 

[jeana1001]

A great poem, well read.

[GingerBallsOfDelight]

I can't understand it :(

[lagoondiver]

I have to study this poem (among other Romantic poetry) for school and I'm glad this recording is uploaded so I know how it's pronounced since I'm not very familiar with the Scottish dialect

[ron611087]

To invest sweat for a benefit only to be realised in a seasons time. To have compassion for fellow creatures. To understand that the abstraction of future and past makes us different to other animals. To know that these are the things things make us human.

Philosophers debate at length on these things. An 18th century farmers son summarised them all in a single poem. Now that's an original beautiful mind.

[AngelBiLove]

Yes that mouse lost his house today. But in return, that single mouse is forever locked in history. For over 120 years now.

[skittlesareyum48]

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men

Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy!

I'm not sure if this is the sole inspiration for the entire book of "Of Mice and Men" by Steinbeck, but it is definitely the main theme of the story, as well as where the title is derived from.

[onions42]

O mousey....... Disney??

Burns was an arse - but he could tell you how it is..?

[DontBeADingBat420]

@onions42 did u know burn aye dident think so so stfu

[peigimccann]

No, it isn't English, it's Scots.

[DrSpooglemon]

@peigimccann Broad Scots derives mainly from old english with some welsh gaelic influences. Indeed a different tongue from the gaelic spoken in northern scotland. I would say that it has a very close kinship with modern english...

[sternbergzookie]

@DrSpooglemon It does an excellent job of straddling the line between foreign and familiar, being generally intelligible with a dash of Scottishness. I lament that I'll probably never be able to grasp this lovely dialect.

[xXxButterflyGirlxXx]

I can't believe i'm studying this. Wtf this isn't even english. 

[smilekatysmile]

@xXxButterflyGirlxXx No its old scots!

[DontBeADingBat420]

@xXxButterflyGirlxXx hahhahahhahahhahahahhaha ur studyin it and u dont even know were its from u need to study harded

[glasgow1234]

Robert Burns is not just for Scotland to enjoy....

It is for the world to enjoy his magnificent work.

He really was a true man and work is pure and beautiful !

Long may his poems filter through the centuries.....

[AllTheNewStuff1]

you know. I can't find a better person to read this with the greatest accent than my english teacher. Thanks Ms. Bishop.

[wullieready]

Fuck me its true. you lot couldnt agree on the colour of shite

[peigimccann]

The Twin Towers illustrates the line "The best laid plans ... "etc. and brings it into this century showing that Burns wisdom knows no boundaries of nation or time.

[SarahIsCoolOBV]

Why the hell is the twin towers in this, Americans, YOU ARE NOT SCOTTISH, GO AWAY.

[murrgun]

@SarahIsCoolOBV

it is referring to humanity and its cruelty. Many people of Scottish descent died on 9/11 anyway.

[hihowdigut]

@SarahIsCoolOBV Incorrect, Scottish people live in America, therefor Americans can be Scottish. However, I agree with you on the relevancy of the twin towers?

[ScottMcK9]

@SarahIsCoolOBV I think that's brutal to be honest. Americans have every right to be proud of their Scottish heritage. And when they do refer to being Scottish, it's because they like to let their fellow countrymen know where their heritage is from, because they're proud.

[segano1]

Dinnae listin tae nae twatet cloon thit says Scots isnae a fill language init's ain richt.

[standrews200]

check out the free album of rabbie and some original songs at

standrewstv/music

[laHeretic]

The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,

Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy!

[bratinellachiccas18]

like!

[obmat52]

I listened tae this last nicht

and thought?

what a load a shicht

Im a poet

and dont know it

[ThefightingCelt]

Burns uses the mouse as the metaphor for the poor and less fortunate members of society, who struggled each day just to keep a roof over their heads.

[ThefightingCelt]

@kitesflyhigher Yes, on the surface it is about the wee sleekit, cowerin', timorous beastie ( i.e the field mouse) but he looked at the mouse's plight and quickly drew comparison with the poor farmers in Ayrshire - some of whom were often thrown out of ther farm because they couldn't pay the rent or make ends meet. Therefore, being a humanitarian at heart, he looked at the bigger picture - and used the mouse's struggle as an anology for the downtrodden and most vulnerable in society.

[19996669991]

I love this poem and have done ever since being forced to learn it as a ten year old school boy.

Still thou are blest, compared wi' me!

The present only toucheth thee:

But och! I backward cast my e'e,

On prospects drear!

An' forward, tho' I canna see,

I guess an' fear!

With those lines Burns reaches out and touches me with a hand that fits perfectly into my own.

[Jojoseahorse]

@19996669991 We had that quote as an essay question (any interpretation we wished) in an English exam at my high school in 1981. Our future (and that of the world) did not look too bright back then, but hey, here we are :) Thanks for this beautiful poem and video; I live in NY now, but have not forgotten from whence I came :)

[nacho1560]

Maybe Rabbie's most profound poem ever. The thought that man and mouse were both mortal and kindrid was not common in his days.He was far beyond his time in seeing all life as one, all creatures great and small deserving attention. A genius far before his time.

[JadMock]

Happy Rabbie Burns Day

[porousmicrobe]

brilliant recital

[BEC123ize]

cute awww

[bucknut248]

try watching this with transcribed audio :D

[JadMock]

@bucknut248 yeah prostate studio lol

[jaideefife]

WHAT !!!!!!!!!!!

[TheBENGALHANNIBAL]

Is he trying to say reichstage911 was manufactured????

[TheBENGALHANNIBAL]

Robert Burns deserves to have equal exposure as Shakespeare.

[steaminonapuffer]

@TheBENGALHANNIBAL I think you will find Robert Burns has had just as much exposure as Shakespeare. Consider this for instance, the Soviet Union was the first country in the world to honour Burns with a commemorative stamp in 1956.

[TheBENGALHANNIBAL]

@steaminonapuffer

You very rarely hear Robert Burns in the media, such as radio, or plays etc but in saying that the media is corporate.

Indeed the Soviet may have awarded BURNS, but they were the 1st in 1956, compare that to Shakespeare.

[ScottMcK9]

@TheBENGALHANNIBAL Compare the Greatest Bard, Robert Burns, that ever lived to William Shakespeare? There is no comparison, you couldn't get better than the listed greatest bard that ever lived. What was Shakespeare again? A bard.

[scasey1960]

I could have done without the references to 9/11.

[WalidAlgeria1]

LEGEND 

[coolguy89890]

What does this mean to you this specific paragraph:

The best laid schemes of mice and men

Go often askew,

And leaves us nothing but grief and pain,

For promised joy!

[BuskersCorner]

Great reading and video - Don Koyote

[stuffstuffstuffyay]

well done that was so awesome, i got goose bumps. I only remember the first stanza or two after being forced to learn it at high school, but i am glad i remember that!

[danny96221]

love the harmony of the words... many of the views are probably mine :D

[TamTheToff]

how a 17th century farmer can come up wi that phrase ....

Still thou are blest, compared wi' me!

The present only toucheth thee:

But och! I backward cast my e'e,

On prospects drear!

An' forward, tho' I canna see,

I guess an' fear!

so proud ti be scottish most doon ti earth people in the world

ALBA GU BRATH

[blacbraun]

@TamTheToff 18th Century

[vogonsrock]

Wonderful poem and fantastic to hear it spoken.

[platypus121]

Very enjoyable, thanks.

[MusicblawG]

Great video. I created a video of my cat Missy chasing a mouse round the garden and wrote the lyrics to this poem in the description box.

[ArsenicJulep]

Thanks so much for this. I found a mouse dying in my apartment hallway tonight, and thought I'd post a few verses of this poem as a tribute to the poor wee beastie.

[hartistry]

nice reading!!!

[Antzcceltic1]

the meaning of this is so beautiful and still true today

[TheFriedLiverAttack]

the deaf hear tooo

[TheFriedLiverAttack]

thine poor er..or thine earth born..i dont know???in fellow mortal throws..never the mists of loch arber tought seen...oh poor mortal how dunst thine daine...like when i was about 11 you should have seen me ski then youd love me and leave.

[ThefightingCelt]

Think of the mouse as a metaphor for the poor and disadvantaged.

[TheFriedLiverAttack]

Its to a field mouse...not a mouse at all...its sexy about a deer or maybe a lassie whos a deer. with a mousey complextion

[DonegalRaymie201]

For those who can't grasp Burns' genius, he was identifying with the poor moosey, that he had accidently disturbed while plowing! He saw simple kinship wi' the wee rodent cause it was but trying tae mak a hame fir the winter months is aw'!

Burns wis a genius because he saw mankind as it was, pure & simple!

[bloobear1]

@DonegalRaymie201 Yes you have got it right but there's more as he was a philanthropist . To take the time and write with compassion about the wee moose is rare in those days as people were too busy surving and to have the time to have those thoughts was a luxury. Robert Burns could touch the heart and soul :-)

[1MouseGirl1]

RODENT'S ARE BEST!

[MissClone]

Jings! Crivens help ma boab!

Its wee Jeemy!

Whaur yi bin aw these years

Wullie must be missin ye

[doap321]

alrighhhttt... um is he speaking English? lol such a strong accent. I have no clue what he said

[sp00nf33d]

@doap321 he is speaking a god-forsaken language knows as old Scottish

[MissClone]

@sp00nf33d god-forsaken language ?

its the language of the god's

sounds perfectly clear to me

[sp00nf33d]

@MissClone did god by definition(ifyouare a chhristian) forsake all lauguages as he has no say over them and has abandoned them to their speakers?

[MissClone]

@sp00nf33d how would I know

I only know that old Scots is ambrosia to the ear

and some English accents particularly southern ones are distressing to hear

[TherealMrChristophel]

@sp00nf33d cockney rhyming slag on the other hand...

[sp00nf33d]

@TherealMrChristophel yeh, well god probably was a cokney and still lives there soooo, thats a different story all together!

[DonegalRaymie201]

@MissClone

Aye Hen, yer richt there! Hiv mercy oan them that cannae understaun! They dinnae ken much...

[TherealMrChristophel]

@doap321 no. he's speaking scots.

[bloobear1]

@TherealMrChristophel Aye, it's 'Auld' Ayrshire Scots he's speaking

[TherealMrChristophel]

@bloobear1 is there further dialects within scots?

[TheFriedLiverAttack]

@TherealMrChristophel a nathin now as in tuckin as in nath in lad nath in as in FEAST.

[Relliumachine42]

What is this I don't even

[RedLightBulbs]

That was great.

[widsy]

Beautiful recitation of a beautiful poem. gaunnae geez ony mair?????

[shiro182]

The mouse is so cute!!

[bakinblack1]

its a shame i have no idea what the fuck hes on about

[LetzteEclipse483]

@bakinblack1 HAHAHA

<3

[inkathebadger]

The poems is about him accidentally destroying a mouse's den with his plow right before winter set in and his remorse for doing so. As well it comments on how the best laid schemes of mice and men oft go awry.

[DonegalRaymie201]

@inkathebadger

Gang aft aglay! But the sentiment is richt!

[rnr5682]

very, very well done. burns is still so relevant to us today---throughout the entire world

[TheFriedLiverAttack]

@rnr5682 a fucking mouse for supper how i laugh...a mouse for supper LMFAO

[Rossdhu16]

Well done.

[Psittacine]

So wonderful to hear it spoken! Thanks for uploading this :)

[TheFriedLiverAttack]

@Psittacine yid get shot.or burned

[TheFriedLiverAttack]

@Psittacine and from joy so bringist pain

[lostpoet93]

I love this poem! <3

[DonegalRaymie201]

@babyvrobyn

Naw! It wisnae written in Inglis!

Think of it like reading Chaucer! You have to make an effort to read it out loud, and then work out the meaning? So do Scots, cause it's their language that seldom few still ken how tae spik sadly!

And anyway, you can't translate poetry, or Burns himself would!

[babyvrobyn]

i remember in primary school for our burns ceremonyy we wur recitin rabby burns poems it was dead brilliant .

[notaninvaildname]

Read this at the Burns Supper

[shitzulovey]

beautiful, I recently found a mouse in my house,  sissy and I did a catch and release, our guy looked like the mouse in the vid, cute creatures.

gotta admit I had a hard time understanding the speech, still enjoyed the poem.

[podsednik22]

My great-great-great-great-great-­great-great grandpappy wrote this :)

[mickety2001]

Burns was ploughing his fields for he was a farmer at the time when he came across the nest of a dormouse. I love thinking of him stopping his ploughteam and looking down. At least that's the story and I like to think it true. Quite a poem came from that moment.

[RogetKing]

Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious. Who cares what country Robert Burns was from. This is a beautiful poem and I love it.

[cnaptakmockba]

what a stunning poem by a the Scottish master poet

[MasterOuchy]

Robert Burns was really an Englishman. He wrote a drunken poem to a delicious chocolate mousse that he dropped in a field on his way home from a Christmas party and the Scots jumped all over it. His Scheme to eat it in bed had gang agley!

[TheRacontuer]

I can proudly say, as a Scotsman myself, that this is by no other than the great Rabby Burns. (ur quite right, he also wrote auld lang syne.).

But this IS NOT ENGLISH! it is SCOTTISH, and writen in SCOTS which only scotsmen know, for it's never taught but only learned. If you don't understand what he's saying, it has nothing to do with English and everything to do with Scotland, but basically what he's saying: is beautiful. I love him.

[elfling]

One of those rare youtube gems

Beauty

[richardyingren]

sounds good to me and the photos are both most suitable and well handled.. thankyou!

[johnboegman]

I love the question--"anyone else hear of this guy?"

Yeah -- every year at New Year's. He wrote the poem that became "Auld Lang Syne," the song we sing (at least the chorus) at the stroke of midnight to celebrate the new year.

[LazlosPlane]

I was joking. You didn't laugh?

[acerb45666555]

love it!

[Zneekerz]

I wish I could understand what the poem is about. Scottish is great, it's real cool, but if your from a non-english speaking country and have troubles with english this is just impossible to understand.

[havetohavemusic]

Zneekerz: there's a good translation at the Wikipedia page. Youtube doesn't seem to like links, but just search Wikipedia for "To a Mouse"

[DonegalRaymie201]

Sir, your English is not to blame! This poem was never written in English.

Burns wrote in "Lalands", (Lowland Scots), because he never spoke standard English, so nor could he think in it!

Lalands is related to English, as Danish is to Swedish. I hope you understand?

[RFC1873CFC1905]

Not all of Robert Burns' writings were wrote in Scots. He also wrote pieces in proper English.

[DonegalRaymie201]

@RFC1873CFC1905

"Proper English"? That's going to endear you to your fellow Scots! Burns was bilingual. He chose to write mainly in "Lallans" because he saw the beauty and descriptive elegance of the language, and was no doubt saddened at its' decline since the Union.

Incidently, your fellow RFC fans this side o' the water, have been championing the use and funding of Ulster-Scots, as their cultural heritage here!

[ijsmale]

@RFC1873CFC1905 Proper English??!!! Scots is now recognized as a language unto its own that evolved separately, along side English. My grandmother used to say the same to grandfather when he started using Scots - she'd say " Daddy, Speak Proper English!" not even recognizing her own native tongue was a distinct language! Mind, it soonds and luiks mich the sam as Inglis bit isnae tae be confused wi Inglis.

[rockchick80s]

Thanks flybreath for sharing. Love anything by "Rabbie". My Grandmother used to scare me and my sister with this. lol

[quietmountain8]

I adore this poem and this is my favourite reading of it.

[suuzzee5]

Poor little beastie, I'd take him in!  :)

[rollinwiththeflow]

Thank you for sharing this wonderful poem with me! I hadn't heard/read this in eons! Plenty o' mice 'round here...indicating 10 months of Winter coming? Probably! :)

[daisycutter71]

thats two dialects too tie with ....its cheating lmao! but gives me a plan!

[LazlosPlane]

Hello. I just noticed that Mr. Sibbald places an "s" on "forward" in the next to last line.

Any explanation for this? Is there an "s" in some editions, perhaps?

[jamgilp]

It's always been forward as far as I know. Doesn't change the meaning though so it really doesn't matter.

[Stonegolem42]

One reason that Burns is my favorite poet is because he doesn't waste time philosophizing. He comes straight out and says what he's talking about: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men

Gang aft agley"

Excellent video, to an excellent recording. Five stars.

[joetylerdale]

Thank You!

If my mind only touches the outer edge of Robert's understanding....

[LazlosPlane]

Damn.

This "Burns" guy really knows how to turn a phrase. Anyone else hear of this guy?

Marvelous. Thanks.

[jamgilp]

Yeah I know! He really should be published! He's got some talent!

[LazlosPlane]

Geez!

Who'd a thunk it?!? Some guy from freakin' Scotland! ! !

[Jojordan12]

this "burns guy" died in 1796

He Is probely the most known poet in scotland!

If you ever go to scotland ask ANYONE who Robert Burns was and theyll know!

[LazlosPlane]

They'd better!

[iamundergrace]

standing ovation. i didn't think i would enjoy that as much as i did. very touching.

[HymnFan]

Thanks for introducing me to the wonderful Scottish bard! I'm a recent fan of George MacDonald's meditative poetry and Burns compares well to him. Fantastic slideshow too! Well done!

[peskirabbit]

This is absolutely lovely, its great to hear the poem not only read in the appropriate accent so that you can hear how its supposed to sound, but *also* read so well. And the video is superb, and the image for the plans of men that gang agley wonderfully striking.

Um, I'm really not certain that this poem was meant ironically though. I feel it was a heartfelt moment, as well as a serious comment on how much extra misery we give ourselves with our human ability to consider past and future.

[JXVQ]

A guid poem

[Urgelt]

Wonderful. Sibbald is a marvel; I love his pacing and clear enunciation. The slide show you've added to his narration enhances my joy of Burns' ironic poem.

[eivissano]

A moment of peaceful beauty, here on YouTube.

[obseebish]

To hold sweet fraturnaty with the wee naturers union a memorie lost are we dominions fool the bard reminds that we too though think we great share all mortal creatures fate rolling ages lead us to the fate of flowres mice and you these maxums you can make the rule I'll have another dram or two a diamin icker for the poor we'll ask no more

[nalaelduac]

@obseebish Is that all there is?

[Bronzepennies]

This video is a LIFE saver!

I have to memorize the poem for the burns supper.

Thaaaaanks!!!

:)

[RoseLCL]

Thank you for another wonderful Robert Burns video beautifully presented as always by David Sibbald, a joy to look at and listen too.

I hope there is more to come. well done.

Love Rose