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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 87

A Man's a Man for a' That

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A Man's a Man for a' That.

AnAnntinft. WORDS BT BCRN'S. Is there, for ho - nest po - ver - ty, Wha hangs his head, and a' that? The cow - ard-slave, we pass him by; We daur be puir for a' that; For a' that, and a* that, Our toils ob - scure, and a* that, The lank is but the gui - nea-stamp,—The man's the gowd for a' that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin-grey,1 and a' that?
Gi'e fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A man's a man, for a that;
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, and a' that,
The honest man, though e'er sae puir,
Is king o' men, for a' that.

You see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,
Wha stmts, and stares, and a' that;
Though hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a cuif,2 for a that;
For a that, and a' that,
His ribbon, star, and a' that,
Tne man o' independent mind.
He looks and laughs at a' that.

A king can make a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, and a' that;
But an honest man's aboon his might;
Gude faith, he canna fa'3 that!
For a' that, and a' that,
Their dignities, and a' that,
The pith o' sense, the pride o' worth,
Are higher ranks 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,
May bear the gree,4 and a' that;
For a' that, and a' that,
It's cornin' yet, for a' that,
That man to man, the waild o'er,
Shall brithers be, for a' that.

1 Home spun cloth.

2 Fool

3 Dare not attempt that.

4 Pre-eminence.