On the Thanksgiving-Day for His Majesty’s Recovery
O sing a new song to the Lord,Make, all and every one,A joyful noise, even for the KingHis restoration.
The sons of Belial in the landDid set their heads together;Come, let us sweep them off, said they,Like an o’erflowing river.
They set their heads together, I say,They set their heads together;On right, on left, on every hand,We saw none to deliver.
Thou madest strong two chosen onesTo quell the Wicked’s pride;That Young Man, great in Issachar,The burden-bearing tribe.
And him, among the Princes chiefIn our Jerusalem,The judge that’s mighty in thy law,The man that fears thy name.
Yet they, even they, with all their strength,Began to faint and fail:Even as two howling, ravenous wolvesTo dogs do turn their tail.
Th’ ungodly o’er the just prevail’d,For so thou hadst appointed;That thou might’st greater glory giveUnto thine own anointed.
And now thou hast restored our State,Pity our Kirk also;For she by tribulationsIs now brought very low.
Consume that high-place, Patronage,From off thy holy hill;And in thy fury burn the book—Even of that man M’Gill.
Now hear our prayer, accept our song,And fight thy chosen’s battle:We seek but little, Lord, from thee,Thou kens we get as little.
Words in this poem
- belial n.
- An evil spirit; a wicked and unprincipled person; the personification of evil. [Heb. beli ya'al; beli without + ya'al profit.]
- quell v. t.
- To take the life of; to kill. [OE. quellen to kill, AS. cwellan, causative of cwelan to die; akin to OHG. quellen to torment, Icel. kvelja. See Quail to cower.]
- ungodly a.
- Not godly; not having regard for God; disobedient to God; wicked; impious; sinful.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- kirk n.
- A church or the church, in the various senses of the word; esp., the Church of Scotland as distinguished from other reformed churches, or from the Roman Catholic Church. Jamieson. [Scot.; cf. Icel. kirkja, of Greek origin. See Church.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Thanksgiving-Day for His Majesty’s Recovery 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, On the Thanksgiving-Day for His Majesty’s Recovery, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/on-the-thanksgiving-day-for-his-majesty-s-recovery.html, id L03166.
Form and metre
On the Thanksgiving-Day for His Majesty’s Recovery is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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 -A-A lord · oneA · king · restorationA
- 5 -A-A chief · jerusalemA · law · nameA
- 6 -A-A strength · failA · wolves · tailA
- 7 -A-A prevail'd · appointedA · give · anointedA
- 9 -A-A patronage · hillA · book · m'gillA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O sing a new song to the Lord, | 8 | ········ |
| Make, all and every one, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| A joyful noise, even for the King | 8 | ·/˘·/··· |
| His restoration. | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| The sons of Belial in the land | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| Did set their heads together; | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Come, let us sweep them off, said they, | 8 | ········ |
| Like an o’erflowing river. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| They set their heads together, I say, | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| They set their heads together; | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| On right, on left, on every hand, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| We saw none to deliver. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Thou madest strong two chosen ones | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To quell the Wicked’s pride; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That Young Man, great in Issachar, | 8 | ········ |
| The burden-bearing tribe. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And him, among the Princes chief | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In our Jerusalem, | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| The judge that’s mighty in thy law, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The man that fears thy name. | 6 | ······ |
| Yet they, even they, with all their strength, | 8 | ··/····· |
| Began to faint and fail: | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Even as two howling, ravenous wolves | 8 | /··/˘/˘· |
| To dogs do turn their tail. | 6 | ······ |
| Th’ ungodly o’er the just prevail’d, | 8 | ˘/˘···˘/ |
| For so thou hadst appointed; | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| That thou might’st greater glory give | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Unto thine own anointed. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| And now thou hast restored our State, | 8 | ····˘//· |
| Pity our Kirk also; | 7 | /˘/˘·/˘ |
| For she by tribulations | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Is now brought very low. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Consume that high-place, Patronage, | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| From off thy holy hill; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And in thy fury burn the book— | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Even of that man M’Gill. | 6 | /˘···· |
| Now hear our prayer, accept our song, | 8 | ··/·˘//· |
| And fight thy chosen’s battle: | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| We seek but little, Lord, from thee, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thou kens we get as little. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
Notes from the edition 1
Notes from The Complete Works of Robert Burns (Project Gutenberg #1279).
- Stanza 9, line 4 It is a well-known fact that witches, or any evil spirits, have no power to follow a poor wight any further than the middle of the next running stream. It may be proper likewise to mention to the benighted traveller, that when he falls in with bogles, whatever danger may be in his going forward, there is much more hazard in turning back.—R.B.
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