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A Man's a Man - in G-1.png

​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.

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One of Burns' most popular and enduring poems, A Man's A Man was published anonymously in the Glasgow Magazine. Here I give a rough outline of the melody as an exercise for learning by ear, along with the first verse of the lyrics to assist in catching the different pieces of the tune.

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Both my fiddle sketch of the melody and Sheena Wellington's classic performance of the song at the opening of the Scottish Parliament are below.

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