A Bottle and Friend by Robert Burns

Here's a bottle and an honest friend, sings Burns, for whit mair could a body wish? Naebody kens what care his life may bring, sae folk should catch the passin moments and use them weel, for happiness is shy and disnae aye come when it's sought.

By Robert Burns · First published 1787 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Drinking Song, Carpe Diem Poetry · 123 words

First lines

There's nane that's blest of human kind, / But the cheerful and the gay, man, / Fal, la, la, &c.

Here's a bottle and an honest friend! / What wad ye wish for mair, man? / Wha kens, before his life may end, / What his share may be o' care, man?

Then catch the moments as they fly, / And use them as ye ought, man: / Believe me, happiness is shy, / And comes not aye when sought, man.

• Open reader

Similar titles

• A Carol For Twelfth Day by L. Edna Walter

Genres

• Lyric Poetry — The poem sings in short, rhythmic stanzas wi a personal voice an a refrain (Fal, la, la), which is the hert o lyric verse.
• Drinking Song — It is aw aboot the bottle an the cheer o drink, wi a jolly chorus made for company an the cup passed roond.
• Carpe Diem Poetry — The speaker urges readers tae catch the moments as they fly an no let joy slip awa, a classic seize-the-day theme.
• Convivial Verse — It celebrates guid fellowship an the honest friend that gies a gaitherin its warmth an humour.

Tags

Scots sang · Drinkin sang · Howff · Freenship · Gled · Bashfu gled · Catch the minnit · Mak the maist o' the day · Wha kens fate · Care · Sang burden · Lauchter

What this Textopian page supports

A Bottle and Friend is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1787 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Poem
• Author: Robert Burns
• Date: 1787 CE
• Genres: Lyric Poetry, Drinking Song, Carpe Diem Poetry, Convivial Verse, Bacchanalian Poetry
• Length: 123 words
• Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs

Good citation fit

• Work identity for A Bottle and Friend by Robert Burns
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
• Readability and classroom-planning context
• Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

More by Robert Burns

• Handsome Nell (1808)
• O Tibbie, I Hae Seen the Day (1786)
• I Dream'D I Lay (1792)
• In the Character of a Ruined Farmer (1786)
• Tragic Fragment (1786)
• The Tarbolton Lasses (1808)
• Ah, Woe is me, my Mother Dear (1808)
• Montgomerie's Peggy (1790)
• All works by Robert Burns