Part one of my tribute to Rabbie Burns.
What makes a real king is not his manners, but his innate character and qualities.
This Scots song originally came under the title "Is There For Honest Poverty," but is widely known as "A Man's A Man For A' That." It is an expression of egalitarian ideas of society, where Burns clearly demonstrates his contempt for the rank and reveals his ideas of liberalism which were so much ahead of his time.
In an 18th century small country, ruled by Hanoverian kings, Burns' words were inspirational to the poor people who did not bow and scrape like "coward slaves," and considered themselves to be equals to those aristocrats with their "silk" and "wines."
The values championed by Burns in this poem are both timeless and universal and embody the spirit of the enlightenment and all that was flourishing in Scotland then. It is recognized internationally among all those people who believe in the equality of a man. (http://www.burnssupper2009.com/)
Vocabulary translations:
a' = all
hings= hangs
an' = and
gowd = gold
hamely = homely
hoddin = coarse
gie = give
e'er = ever
sae = so
o' = of
birkie = fellow
ca'ed= called
wha = who
hunners = hundreds
cuif = idiot
mak = make
aboon = above
guid = good
mauna = must not
bear the gree = come first
o'er = over
brithers = brothers
** I dedicate this video to my late Grandfather, who always dreamed of living in a world like this**
GREAT VIDEO! Fraternity which brings a tear to the eye. Nice music as well :) Your grandfather should be proud.
GimpSuit99 6 months ago