184 quotes
It's hardly in a body's pow'r,
To keep, at times, frae being sour.
The wisest man the warl' e'er saw,
He dearly loved the lasses, O.
Partly wi' love o'ercome sae sair,
And partly she was drunk.
Posthumous Pieces (1799)
Auld Nature swears, the lovely dears
Her noblest work she classes, O:
Her prentice han' she tried on man,
An' then she made the lasses, O.
Thy daughters bright thy walks adorn,
Gay as the gilded summer sky,
Sweet as the dewy milk-white thorn,
Dear as the raptured thrill of joy.
Some wee short hours ayont the twal.
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.
Tam o' Shanter (1793)
Windows and doors, in nameless sculpture drest,
With order, symmetry, or taste unblest;
Forms like some bedlam-statuary's dream,
The craz'd creations of misguided whim.
The Brigs of Ayr (1787)
At length his lonely cot appears in view,
Beneath the shelter of an aged tree;
Th' expectant wee-things, toddlin, stacher thro'
To meet their Dad, wi' flichterin noise an' glee.
The Cotter's Saturday Night (1786)
Leeze me on drink! it gi'es us mair
Than either school or college.
Their tricks and craft hae put me daft,
They've ta'en me in, and a' that,
But clear your decks, and—Here's the sex!
I like the jads for a' that.
Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North;
The birth-place of valour, the country of worth.
Johnson's The Scots Musical Museum (1787)
I'll be merry and free,
I'll be sad for nae-body;
If nae-body cares for me,
I'll care for nae-body.
In durance vile here must I wake and weep,
And all my frowsy couch in sorrow steep.
Posthumous Pieces (1799)
For a' that, and a' that
An' twice as muckle 's a' that,
I've lost but ane, I've twa behin',
I've wife eneugh for a' that.
Posthumous Pieces (1799)
I've seen sae mony changefu' years,
On earth I am a stranger grown:
I wander in the ways of men,
Alike unknowing and unknown.
The fear o' hell 's a hangman's whip
To haud the wretch in order;
But where ye feel your honour grip,
Let that aye be your border.
Epistle to a Young Friend (1786)
Some rhyme a neebor's name to lash;
Some rhyme (vain thought!) for needfu' cash;
Some rhyme to court the countra clash,
An' raise a din;
For me, an aim I never fash;
I rhyme for fun.
Hear how he clears the points o' Faith
Wi' rattlin' an' thumpin'!
Now meekly calm, now wild in wrath,
He's stampin', an' he's jumpin'!
Look abroad through Nature's range,
Nature's mighty law is change.
Let not woman e'er complain (1794)