Reply to Robert Riddell [Robert Burns]
written in 1789
Reply to Robert Riddell [Robert Burns] - meaning Summary
Friendship Over Formal Duty
Burns’s short reply to Robert Riddell answers a jolly invitation by preferring company to riding. Written in Scots dialect, the poem declines the ride and praises shared conversation and friendly pastime. It balances playful familiarity with gratitude: Burns insists he would rather sit and chat "at ony time or tide" than attend formally even for a king, and ends with an emphatic blessing, expressing genuine warmth and indebtedness to Riddell. The piece functions as a convivial, personal note that celebrates friendship and simple social pleasures.
Read Complete AnalysesDear Bard To ride this day is vain For it will be a steeping rain So come and sit with me Wee'l twa or three leaves fill up with scraps And whiles fill up the time with Cracks And spend the day with glee. R.R. Ellisland Dear Sir, at ony time or tide I'd rather sit wi' you than ride, Tho' 'twere wi' royal Geordie: And trowth your kindness soon and late Aft gars me to mysel look blate THE LORD IN HEAVEN REWARD YE! R. Burns
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