Happy Birthday Rabbie Burns, you prescient human being!

When first my brave Johnie lad came to this town,
He had a blue bonnet that wanted the crown;
But now he has gotten a hat and a feather,
Hey, brave Johnie lad, cock up your beaver!

Cock up your beaver, and cock it fu' sprush,
We'll over the border, and gie them a brush;
There's somebody there we'll teach better behaviour,
Hey, brave Johnie lad, cock up your beaver!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave 'S a sma' request:
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' wast,
An' weary Winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.

That wee-bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald.
To thole the Winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still, thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!

When I was a wee lad, I got a calligraphy set as a Christmas gift which I quite liked. I got pretty good at it, and my dad asked if I would write out "To A Mouse" for him. I did a pretty good job, and he had it framed. He still has it on a wall in his basement.

Green grow the rashes, O;
Green grow the rashes, O;
The sweetest hours that e'er I spend,
Are spent amang the lasses, O.

There's nought but care on ev'ry han',
In ev'ry hour that passes, O;
What signifies the life o' man,
An' 'twere na for the lasses, O.
Green grow, etc

The warly race may riches chase,
An' riches still may fly them, O;
An' tho' at last they catch them fast,
Their hearts can ne'er enjoy them, O.
Green grow, etc

But gie me a canny hour at e'en,
My arms about my Dearie, O;
An' warly cares an' warly men,
May a' gae tapsalteerie, O!
Green grow, etc

For you sae douse, ye sneer at this,
Ye're nought but senseless asses, O;
The wisest Man the warl' saw,
He dearly lov'd the lasses, O.
Green grow, etc

Auld Nature swears, the lovely Dears
Her noblest work she classes, O;
Her prentice han' she try'd on man,
An' then she made the lasses, O.
Green grow, etc

Well, Johnny Carson did just die, and he played a role in people's lives. Burns died a long time ago and for most people has played a much smaller role. Therefore he's treated less with the emotional respect that you treat the dearly departed, but rather with the playfulness that most subjects are treated to here.

Nothing against Mr. Burns.

Burns Night, is it anything more than an excuse for a bunch of bourgeois blowhards to gather together in an attempt to prove themselves more Scottish than you are? Meanwhile, here's the real deal...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ7oYCx6tBw

Burns Night, is it anything more than an excuse for a bunch of bourgeois blowhards to gather together in an attempt to prove themselves more Scottish than you are?

I think not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixbmlwFR2BM

I'm in a Wetherspoons in Wood Green which is enjoining us to Celebrate Burns' Week. By the way, Wood Green what a fucking lifeless dump of a place.

great revives

And Wetherspoons, so many sad lost men sitting on their own. I'm not lost, btw, hop on the 29 and I'm home.

I'd guess they are more concerned with drinking themselves to oblivion than some Burns themed neeps n tatties meal deal.

Add haggis to any meal or breakfast (248 kcal) £1.00

Very aptly it's also John Cooper Clarke's birthday today!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaQCrleQrZ4

It was a favourite song of mum's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5gesVr9qrk

It's January 25th again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB9NO8AFN1g