LiederNet logo

CONTENTS

×
  • Home | Introduction
  • Composers (20,267)
  • Text Authors (19,766)
  • Go to a Random Text
  • What’s New
  • A Small Tour
  • FAQ & Links
  • Donors
  • DONATE

UTILITIES

  • Search Everything
  • Search by Surname
  • Search by Title or First Line
  • Search by Year
  • Search by Collection

CREDITS

  • Emily Ezust
  • Contributors (1,116)
  • Contact Information
  • Bibliography

  • Copyright Statement
  • Privacy Policy

Follow us on Facebook

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

Is there, for honest poverty
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
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 tho' on hamely fare we dine,
         Wear hoddin-gray, 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 coof for a' that:
                For a' that, an' a' that,
                        His riband, star, an' a' that,
                The man o' independent mind,
                        He looks and 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,
         May bear the gree, an' a' that.
                For a' that, an' a' that,
                        It's coming yet, for a' that,
                That man to man, the warld o'er,
                        Shall brothers be for a' that.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "For a' That and a' That" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by (Henry) Walford Davies, Sir (1869 - 1941), "For a' That", op. 18 (Six Songs) no. 5, published 1905 [ voice and piano ], London : Sidney Riordan [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2022-01-08
Line count: 40
Word count: 262

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

Donate

We use cookies for internal analytics and to earn much-needed advertising revenue. (Did you know you can help support us by turning off ad-blockers?) To learn more, see our Privacy Policy. To learn how to opt out of cookies, please visit this site.

I acknowledge the use of cookies

Contact
Copyright
Privacy

Copyright © 2025 The LiederNet Archive

Site redesign by Shawn Thuris