Robert Burns
The Burns Supper is the annual festive tribute to the life, works and spirit of the great Robert Burns (1759-1796) Scotland's best-loved Bard. Burns Suppers have been celebrated on, or about, the poet's birthday, January 25th, for nearly 200 years. Close friends of Burns started the ritual a few years after his death in 1796 as a celebration of his life. The basic format for the evening has remained unchanged since that time and begins when the chairman invites the company to receive the haggis, immortalized in Burns'
The Address to a Haggis. "The events range from lavish formal gatherings of aesthetes and scholars to uproariously informal revelries of drunkards and louts. Most Burns Suppers fall in the middle of this range, and adhere, more or less, to some sort of time honored form which includes the eating of a traditional Scottish meal of haggis neeps and tatties, the drinking of Scotch whisky, and the recitation of works by, about, and in the spirit of the Bard."
Q: Why Did Burns Write About the Haggis?
We at the Caledonian Kitchen went straight to the "official"
source for this answer, The Robert Burns
World Federation, the oldest Burns club in the world, established in 1885!
Here's what they told us:
A: "This is an interesting question and I doubt if we will ever know
exactly what inspired him to write The Address To A Haggis. What is clear
however, is that Burns was presenting the Haggis as being a unique and symbolic
part of Scottish identity and culture. Through the power of the spoken word and
the imagery of vivid language, Rabbie successfully portrayed a picture in the
mind, which has long since become the focal point of the celebration of Burns
and Scotland.
When written, only a short time had passed since the Jacobite Rebellion. The
French Revolution was alive, and America was in the aftermath of the War of
Independence. In Britain, the political struggle between Scotland and England
was very much to the fore and Burns wrote passionately on the subject.
So war, political struggle, and the Scottish identity were the catalyst for
the poem. The humble Haggis was merely the vehicle used to demonstrate his proud
Scottish nationalism, which he does in a light-hearted way. Burns clearly
thought that Haggis was a great meal but he also recognized its nutritional
value, its popularity and its unusual preparation and presentation. It was
uniquely Scottish.
It is therefore easy to see why Rabbie made the link between Scotland's
Identity at that time, and the serving of Haggis to ordinary Scots, as an
ordinary Scottish meal. I suppose it was a strange subject to write about but
this is the mastery of Burns!"
What Does It Mean?
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(Burns Original) |
(Standard English
Translation) |
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Address to a Haggis |
Address to a Haggis |
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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. |
Fair full your honest, jolly face,
Great chieftain of the sausage race!
Above them all you take your place,
Stomach, tripe, or intestines:
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm. |
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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. |
The groaning trencher there you fill,
Your buttocks like a distant hill,
Your pin would help to mend a mill
In time of need,
While through your pores the dews distill
Like amber bead |
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His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An cut you up wi ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!
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His knife see rustic Labor wipe,
And cut you up with ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like any ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm steaming, rich! |
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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;
The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
'Bethankit' hums. |
Then spoon for spoon, they stretch and strive:
Devil take the hindmost, on they drive,
Till all their well swollen bellies by-and-by
Are bent like drums;
Then old Master of the house, most like to burst,
'The grace!' hums. |
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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? |
Is there that over his French ragout,
Or olio that would sicken a sow,
Or fricassee would make her throw-up
With perfect disgust,
Looks down with sneering, scornful view
On such a dinner? |
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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 bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit! |
Poor devil! see him over his trash,
As feeble as a withered rush,
His thin legs a good whip-lash,
His fist a nut;
Through bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit. |
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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. |
But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his ample fist a blade,
He will make it whistle;
And legs, and arms, and heads will crop
Like tops of thistle. |
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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! |
You powers, who make mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill of fare,
Old Scotland want no watery ware,
That splashes in small wooden dishes;
But is you wish her grateful prayer,
Give her a Haggis! |
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This translation reprinted with the generous permission of WBC.
© 2001 WBC. Under no circumstances can any of the contents of this
translation
be copied, reproduced, or represented without prior written consent.
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The Robert Burns World Federation LTD
Dean Castle Country Park,
Kilmarnock. Ayrshire, Scotland KA3 1XB
Tel/ Fax 01563 572469
office@robertburnsfederation.co.uk
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Contact us for more information. |
