O wad some Power the giftie gie us

January 25, 2003 11:34 AM

O wad some Power the giftie gie us -To see oursels as ithers see us! Put on your Sporrans and join me for a wee dram and a bite of Haggis, as Scotland celebrates its national bard ,William Mcgonagal. Oops , i mean Robert Burns.
posted by sgt.serenity (16 comments total)

i'm glad they include a glossary!

this is my favorite. (and the only one by him that was in our high school anthology)
posted by amberglow at 11:44 AM on January 25, 2003

and don't forget a deep-fried Mars Bar and some Irn Bru for dessert!
posted by jonmc at 12:04 PM on January 25, 2003

jon, that 10 things to do is post-worthy in itself! And now i'm picturing people reciting Burns' poetry with their mouths-full of mars/milky ways...
posted by amberglow at 12:11 PM on January 25, 2003

Isn't that how it's supposed to be recited?

(and damn, jon, you're obsessed with those Mars bars. I guess I need to get off the stick and hie myself to A Salt & Battery like pronto...)
posted by Vidiot at 12:14 PM on January 25, 2003

hmmm... I see poetic language has undergone some changes over time.

And hoot mon, I'll pass on the haggis, thanks.
posted by madamjujujive at 12:23 PM on January 25, 2003

6 quid 50 for cod & chips....a salt & robbery more like!
posted by i_cola at 12:30 PM on January 25, 2003

That's 6 dollars and 50 cents, i_cola.

Plus, did somebody say haggis?
posted by jonmc at 1:19 PM on January 25, 2003

Had haggis once. Actually enjoyed it. It was like a very coarse sausage...you could taste the oats.

It's no less disgusting than most sausages. (I have trouble with blood pudding.)
posted by Vidiot at 5:59 PM on January 25, 2003

My trust in the glossary took a nosedive when I clicked on "cock" in madamjuju's link and got "the mark (in curling)." Some kind of obscure Scottish joke? But never mind that—great post, sarge!
posted by languagehat at 7:07 PM on January 25, 2003

i think theyre talking about the feather in his hat, set it at a jaunty angle etc..
you have a filthy mind juju!

........i like that in a woman.


metafilter : cock up your beaver.
posted by sgt.serenity at 7:55 PM on January 25, 2003

Down with blood sports! I was very pleased to see that the Haggis has now been added to the United Kingdom's endangered species list. I'd rather have tattie scones or tablet anyway... yum.

I looked at your profile sgt.serenity and you're an awful wee blether!
posted by Tarrama at 9:34 PM on January 25, 2003

eating a tattie scone is like being taken on a transcendental
journey...
glad you like my display of humility , no saucy notes now please, i'm saving myself for a decent , god-fearing woman
that knows how to knit a jumper or two and has strong arms to help during the lambing season.
Funny you should link to that haggis plant in loch lomond,
well, it wasnt funny actually, the sight of those poor creatures being rolled down the hillside into the bloody maws of the haggis-grinder will stay with me till the end of my days.
Now , back to the poetry:

Ayr, gurgling, kiss'd his pebbled shore,
O'erhung with wild-woods, thickening green;
The fragrant birch and hawthorn hoar,
'Twin'd amorous round the raptur'd scene:
The flowers sprang wanton to be prest,
The birds sang love on every spray;
Till too, too soon, the glowing west,
Proclaim'd the speed of winged day.

can anyone spot the haggis in this romantic scene ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:36 AM on January 26, 2003

With words like these is it any wonder Rabbie Burns was so popular with the ladies ?

When in my arms, wi' a' thy charms
I clasp my countless treasure
I seek nae mair o' Heav'n to share
Than sic a moment's pleasure

Ilk care and fear, when thou art near
I ever mair defy them
Young kings upon their hansel throne
Are no sae blest as I am

And by thy e'en, sae bonie blue
I swear I'm thine for ever
And on thy lips I seal my vow
And break it shall I never

My favourite is "Ae Fond Kiss".

sgt.serenity, I give in, where's the haggis hiding?
posted by Tarrama at 11:14 PM on January 26, 2003

Non-Scottish mefi friends: if you have never attended a Burns supper and witnessed the spectacle of a haggis borne aloft, its hurdies like a distant hill, dews distilling through its pores like amber meade before its ritual slaughter with ceremonial skein-dhu to reveal its gushing entrails bright ... you have not eaten.

Before its consumption, Burn's poem To A Haggis is read, beginning with:

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.

...

and concluding (after a grace that is, indeed, as lang's yir arm)

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!


Dead pure gallus, no'?
posted by RichLyon at 2:19 PM on January 27, 2003

Fuckehnn barry pallll.....
fit like loon ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 2:49 PM on January 27, 2003

well tarrama,

keep looking , i do so enjoy a game of hunt the haggis
with the ladies.. ; )
posted by sgt.serenity at 2:53 PM on January 27, 2003