Tomorrow, January 25th, is the anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns and is celebrated by many Scots in the evening as Burns Night. I recently learned from a DNA analysis that my own ancestry is about 40% Scot and that reinforces my inclination to celebrate a land I have visited and a culture I have enjoyed.
A collection of Burns poems can be found here. A Robert Burns poem from 1789:
Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,
The birth-place of Valour, the country of Worth;
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.
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Farewell to the mountains high covered with snow;
Farewell to the straths and green valleys below;
Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods;
Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods.
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My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,
My heart's in the Highlands wherever I go.
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My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,
My heart's in the Highlands wherever I go.
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The second verse reminded me of a book by another Scot. Several of my favorite authors were Scots.
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