Join
See all stories
21 Jan 2020

A Man’s A Man For A’ That

Papers fly from an old writing desk towards a plough, in Robert Burns Birthplace Museum
Written in 1795, this is one of Burns’s last works. It has become a firm favourite in Scotland, and was sung at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. The poem endorses equality in a nation, and rails against social injustices; it’s as relevant now as in Burns’s time.

Burns was not of a high enough social class to be able to vote, and so he used his writing desk as a ballot box instead. A wave of Republicanism was running through Europe in the late 1700s Burns had read about the French Revolution that proved that ‘ordinary’ people could govern their own country.

A Man’s A Man For A’ That

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, an 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 cuif 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 aboon his might –
Guid faith, he mauna 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 brithers be for a’ that.

Handy glossary:

hings = hangs; gowd = gold

hoddin grey = coarse woollen cloth

yon birkie = that conceited/stuck-up chap; cuif = fool/lout

aboon = above; mauna fa’ = must not come by

bear the gree = win first place