Here’s a Health to Them That’s Awa
Here’s a health to them that’s awa,Here’s a health to them that’s awa;And wha winna wish gude luck to our cause,May never gude luck be their fa’!It’s gude to be merry and wise,It’s gude to be honest and true;It’s gude to support Caledonia’s cause,And bide by the buff and the blue.
Here’s a health to them that’s awa,Here’s a health to them that’s awa,Here’s a health to Charlie the chief o’ the clan,Altho’ that his band be but sma’!May Liberty meet wi’ success!May Prudence protect her frae evil!May tyrants and tyranny tine i’ the mist,And wander their way to the devil!
Here’s a health to them that’s awa,Here’s a health to them that’s awa;Here’s a health to Tammie, the Norlan’ laddie,That lives at the lug o’ the law!Here’s freedom to them that wad read,Here’s freedom to them that wad write,
There’s nane ever fear’d that the truth should be heard,But they whom the truth would indite.
Here’s a Health to them that’s awa,An’ here’s to them that’s awa!Here’s to Maitland and Wycombe, let wha doesna like ’emBe built in a hole in the wa’;Here’s timmer that’s red at the heartHere’s fruit that is sound at the core;And may he be that wad turn the buff and blue coatBe turn’d to the back o’ the door.
Here’s a health to them that’s awa,Here’s a health to them that’s awa;Here’s chieftain M’Leod, a chieftain worth gowd,Tho’ bred amang mountains o’ snaw;Here’s friends on baith sides o’ the firth,And friends on baith sides o’ the Tweed;And wha wad betray old Albion’s right,May they never eat of her bread!
Words in this poem
- caledonia n.
- The ancient Latin name of Scotland; -- still used in poetry.
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- charlie n.
- A familiar nickname or substitute for Charles.
- laddie n.
- A lad; a male sweetheart.
- indite v. t.
- To compose; to write; to be author of; to dictate; to prompt. [OE. enditen to indite, indict, OF. enditer to indicate, show, dictate, write, inform, and endicter to accuse; both fr. LL. indictare to show, to accuse, fr. L. ]
- firth n.
- An arm of the sea; a frith. [Scot. See Frith.]
- tweed n.
- A soft and flexible fabric for men's wear, made wholly of wool except in some inferior kinds, the wool being dyed, usually in two colors, before weaving. [Probably a corruption of twills. See Twill.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Here’s a Health to Them That’s Awa is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, Project Gutenberg ebook #1279; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Burns, Here’s a Health to Them That’s Awa, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/here-s-a-health-to-them-that-s-awa.html, id L03296.
Form and metre
Here’s a Health to Them That’s Awa is 40 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.7 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AAB--CBC awaA · awaA · causeB · fa · wise · trueC · causeB · blueC
- 2 AA------ awaA · awaA · clan · sma · success · evil · mist · devil
- 3 AA---- awaA · awaA · laddie · law · read · write
- 5 AA---B-B awaA · awaA · em · wa · heart · coreB · coat · doorB
- 6 AA------ awaA · awaA · gowd · snaw · firth · tweed · right · bread
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Here’s a health to them that’s awa, | 8 | ········ |
| Here’s a health to them that’s awa; | 8 | ········ |
| And wha winna wish gude luck to our cause, | 10 | ········/· |
| May never gude luck be their fa’! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| It’s gude to be merry and wise, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| It’s gude to be honest and true; | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| It’s gude to support Caledonia’s cause, | 10 | ···˘/·˘/˘· |
| And bide by the buff and the blue. | 8 | ········ |
| Here’s a health to them that’s awa, | 8 | ········ |
| Here’s a health to them that’s awa, | 8 | ········ |
| Here’s a health to Charlie the chief o’ the clan, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Altho’ that his band be but sma’! | 8 | ˘/······ |
| May Liberty meet wi’ success! | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| May Prudence protect her frae evil! | 9 | ·/˘˘/··/˘ |
| May tyrants and tyranny tine i’ the mist, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| And wander their way to the devil! | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Here’s a health to them that’s awa, | 8 | ········ |
| Here’s a health to them that’s awa; | 8 | ········ |
| Here’s a health to Tammie, the Norlan’ laddie, | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| That lives at the lug o’ the law! | 8 | ········ |
| Here’s freedom to them that wad read, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Here’s freedom to them that wad write, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| There’s nane ever fear’d that the truth should be heard, | 10 | ··/······· |
| But they whom the truth would indite. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Here’s a Health to them that’s awa, | 8 | ········ |
| An’ here’s to them that’s awa! | 7 | ······· |
| Here’s to Maitland and Wycombe, let wha doesna like ’em | 13 | ··/˘········· |
| Be built in a hole in the wa’; | 8 | ········ |
| Here’s timmer that’s red at the heart | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Here’s fruit that is sound at the core; | 8 | ········ |
| And may he be that wad turn the buff and blue coat | 12 | ············ |
| Be turn’d to the back o’ the door. | 8 | ········ |
| Here’s a health to them that’s awa, | 8 | ········ |
| Here’s a health to them that’s awa; | 8 | ········ |
| Here’s chieftain M’Leod, a chieftain worth gowd, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| Tho’ bred amang mountains o’ snaw; | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Here’s friends on baith sides o’ the firth, | 8 | ········ |
| And friends on baith sides o’ the Tweed; | 8 | ········ |
| And wha wad betray old Albion’s right, | 9 | ···˘/·/˘· |
| May they never eat of her bread! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
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