Awa Whigs Awa
written in 1790
Awa Whigs Awa - context Summary
Composed 1790 Amid Politics
Written in 1790, Robert Burns’s Awa Whigs Awa
is an explicitly political song attacking the Whig party. It presents the Whigs as traitors who have brought decay to church and state, using hostile, declarative language to blame them for social and political decline. The poem frames their ascent as a frost wilting the nation’s flowers and warns of possible violent retribution. It reflects Burns’s engagement with contemporary partisan disputes and the polarized political climate of late‑18th‑century Scotland rather than private or pastoral concerns.
Awa whigs awa, Awa whigs awa, Ye're but a pack o' traitor louns, Ye'll do nae gude at a'. Our thrissles flourish'd fresh and fair, And bonie bloom'd our roses; But whigs cam like a frost in June, And wither'd a' our posies. Our ancient crown's fa'n in the dust; Deil blin' them wi' the stoure o't, And write their names in his black beuk Wha gae the whigs the power o't! Our sad decay in church and state Surpasses my descriving: The whigs cam o'er us for a curse, And we have done wi'thriving. Grim Vengeance lang has taen a nap, But we may see him wauken: Gude help the day when royal heads Are hunted like a maukin. Awa whigs awa, Awa whigs awa, Ye're but a pack o' traitor louns, Ye'll do nae gude at a'.
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