The next Burns Day will be celebrated in Scotland and in much of the literate world on January 25, 2021.

Burns Day, and perhaps more importantly, Burns Night, began informally in 1801. It has since become an official holiday in Scotland, marking Burns as the most significant figure in expressing the Scottish language and in the process its culture. What, after all, is a culture without its language?

More on Burns in the weeks ahead. For now, Burns turns songwriter. This touching composition shows the devotion of an old woman to the aging man she married and is still very much in love with. ‘My jo’ is a term of endearment.

John Anderson my Jo, John

Robert Burns (1759 – 1796)

John Anderson my jo, John,
When we were first acquent,
Your locks were like the raven,
Your bonie brow was brent;
But now your brow is beld, John,
Your locks are like the snaw,
but blessings on your frosty pow,
John Anderson, my jo!

John Anderson my jo, John,
We clamb the hill thegither,
And monie a cantie day, John,
We’ve had wi’ ane anither;
Now we maun totter down, John,
And hand in hand we’ll go,
And sleep thegither at the foot,
John Anderson, my jo!