A Man's a Man for A' That (1795)¶

Author: Robert Burns
Type: Poetry · Song (Scots dialect)
Published: 1795
Copyright: Public domain
Era/Period: WH Era 3 — the age of the French Revolution; radical politics in Britain
ELA Standards: 9-10.R.7 · 9-10.R.9
WH Standards: WH.6_12.2 · WH.6_12.6
Studio: WH-04 · One Idea, 130 Years of War — pairs with Declaration of the Rights of Man

Studio 2 (WH-02) · The Rights We Wrote Down

Pairs with: Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789) · Level: Trailblazer

When people write down their rights, what changes — and what doesn't? — Equality as a song people still sing. Does a right spread further in a legal declaration or in a song?

See the WH-02 Literature Lens.

What This Poem Is About¶

Scotland's national poet wrote this song to a traditional tune. Its argument is simple and radical for 1795: a person's worth has nothing to do with rank, money, or titles. A lord is "but a coof" (a fool) if he has no sense; an honest poor man is "king o' men." It ends with a prediction: "That Man to Man, the world o'er, / Shall brothers be for a' that."

Read It¶

Public domain — full text in Burns's Scots. Read it aloud: most words sound like English with a Scottish accent.

Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an’ a’ that;
The coward slave—we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a’ that!
For a’ that, an’ a’ that.
Our toils obscure an’ a’ that,
The rank is but the guinea’s stamp,
The Man’s the gowd for a’ that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an’ a that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A Man’s a Man for a’ that:
For a’ that, and a’ that,
Their tinsel show, an’ a’ that;
The honest man, tho’ e’er sae poor,
Is king o’ men for a’ that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca’d a lord,
Wha struts, an’ stares, an’ a’ that;
Tho’ hundreds worship at his word,
He’s but a coof for a’ that:
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
His ribband, star, an’ a’ that:
The man o’ independent mind
He looks an’ laughs at a’ that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an’ a’ that;
But an honest man’s abon his might,
Gude faith, he maunna fa’ that!
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Their dignities an’ a’ that;
The pith o’ sense, an’ pride o’ worth,
Are higher rank than a’ that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a’ that,)
That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an’ a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
It’s coming yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man, the world o’er,
Shall brothers be for a’ that.

— Robert Burns, "A Man's a Man for A' That," 1795

Why It Matters¶

Burns wrote this during the years when Britain was arresting people for spreading ideas from the French Revolution and Thomas Paine's Rights of Man. Its equality argument echoes Paine — but as a song, it could be sung in pubs and at work by people who would never read a pamphlet. When Scotland's Parliament reopened in 1999 after almost 300 years, this song was sung at the ceremony.

The Essential Question — Can one document change the world — and if so, how?¶

The Declaration of the Rights of Man said "men are born and remain free and equal in rights." Burns says the same thing in a song. Ask: which version spread further among ordinary people, and why? Can a song do what a legal document can't?

ELA Standards Connection¶

Standard	Connection
9-10.R.7	Dialect and refrain: how does the repeated "for a' that" build the argument?
9-10.R.9	The song as argument: claim, evidence, counterargument (the lord, the prince), conclusion.

WH.6_12.2 + Era 3 — Enlightenment and revolutionary ideology: equality and the rejection of inherited rank.

WH.6_12.6 — Past to present: the song's 1999 return at the opening of the Scottish Parliament.

Key Vocabulary¶

Gowd — gold
Hamely fare / hoddin grey — plain food / cheap grey cloth
Birkie / coof — a show-off / a fool
Bear the gree — win first place
Guinea's stamp — the stamp on a gold coin — rank is only the stamp, the person is the gold

Studio Ideas¶

Song vs. declaration — Put Burns side by side with Article 1 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Which is more persuasive, and to whom?
Translate it — Rewrite one stanza in modern English. What is lost?
Anthem then and now — Why would a new parliament choose this song in 1999?