O Tibbie, I Hae Seen the Day
O Tibbie, I Hae Seen the Day - meaning Summary
Pride and Money Rejected
Burns presents a speaker addressing Tibbie, a proud woman who spurns him because he lacks money. Using plain, colloquial Scots, the speaker recounts encounters where Tibbie snubs him for wealthier suitors and rejects social pretension. He professes indifference to her scorn, critiques mercenary courtship, and upholds a quieter ideal of worth by preferring a modest, sincere girl to Tibbie’s riches. The poem mixes humor and moral rebuke while exposing how money distorts love and status in a rural community.
Read Complete AnalysesO Tibbie, I hae seen the day, Ye wadna been sae shy; For laik o' gear ye lightly me, But, trowth, I care na by. Yestreen I met you on the moor, Ye spak na, but gaed by like stour; Ye geck at me because I'm poor, But fient a hair care I. When coming hame on Sunday last, Upon the road as I cam past, Ye snufft and ga'e your head a cast - But trowth I care't na by. I doubt na, lass, but ye may think, Because ye hae the name o' clink, That ye can please me at a wink, Whene'er ye like to try. But sorrow tak' him that's sae mean, Altho' his pouch o' coin were clean, Wha follows ony saucy quean, That looks sae proud and high. Altho' a lad were e'er sae smart, If that he want the yellow dirt, Ye'll cast your head anither airt , And answer him fu' dry. But, if he hae the name o' gear, Ye'll fasten to him like a brier, Tho' hardly he, for sense or lear, Be better than the kye . But, Tibbie, lass, tak' my advice: Your daddie's gear maks you sae nice; The deil a ane wad speir your price, Were ye as poor as I. There lives a lass beside yon park, I'd rather hae her in her sark, Than you wi' a' your thousand mark; That gars you look sae high. O Tibbie, I hae seen the day, Ye wadna been sae shy; For laik o' gear ye lightly me, But, trowth, I care na by.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.