Willie Brew'd a Peck O' Maut
written in 1789
Willie Brew'd a Peck O' Maut - meaning Summary
Companionship and Drink
Robert Burns’ lighthearted song celebrates male camaraderie, convivial drinking, and resisting sober departure. Set around a home-brewed peck of malt, three friends banter about being "not that fou" while happily prolonging the night. The poem foregrounds joking competition, shared revelry, and a playful code of honor—who leaves first is a coward, who falls first is king—against the gentle pull of dawn and the moon. It records ordinary social pleasure and mutual loyalty rather than moralizing about alcohol.
Read Complete AnalysesO Willie brew'd a peck o' maut, And Rob and Allen cam to see; Three blyther hearts, that lee-lang night, Ye wadna found in Christendie. We are na fou, we're nae that fou, But just a drappie in our ee; The cock may craw, the day may daw And aye we'll taste the barley bree. Here are we met, three merry boys, Three merry boys I trow are we; And mony a night we've merry been, And mony mae we hope to be! It is the moon, I ken her horn, That's blinkin' in the lift sae hie; She shines sae bright to wyle us hame, But, by my sooth, she'll wait a wee! Wha first shall rise to gang awa, A cuckold, coward loun is he! Wha first beside his chair shall fa', He is the King amang us three. We are na fou, we're nae that fou, But just a drappie in our ee; The cock may craw, the day may daw And aye we'll taste the barley bree.
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