Then Guidwife Count the Lawin
written in 1792
Then Guidwife Count the Lawin - meaning Summary
Drinking Levelling Social Ranks
Burns celebrates communal drinking as a source of comfort, merriment, and temporary equality. The poem stages an evening gathering where ale, brandy and wine transform dark night into festive light. Social distinctions between "gentlemen" and "semple-folk" are suspended: in the tavern every drunk man becomes a lord. The speaker presents drink as both remedy for sorrow and a playful, slightly dangerous pleasure that reveals itself once consumed. The repeated invitation to the guidwife to "count the lawin" reinforces the songlike, convivial atmosphere and the poem’s focus on shared, simple pleasures.
Read Complete AnalysesGane is the day and mirk's the night, But we'll ne'er stray for faute o' light, For ale and brandy's stars and moon, And blude-red wine's the rysin Sun. Then guidwife count the lawin, the lawin, the lawin, Then guidwife count the lawin, and bring a coggie mair. There's wealth and ease for gentlemen, And semple-folk maun fecht and fen; But here we're a' in ae accord, For ilka man that's drunk's a lord. Then guidwife count the lawin, the lawin, the lawin, Then guidwife count the lawin, and bring a coggie mair. My coggie is a haly pool, That heals the wounds o' care and dool; And pleasure is a wanton trout, An' ye drink it a', ye'll find him out. Then guidwife count the lawin, the lawin, the lawin, Then guidwife count the lawin, and bring a coggie mair.
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