Carle, an the King Come by Robert Burns
The song eagerly anticipates the King’s coming, promising dancing and singing. It imagines someone returning across the sea, after which every man will have his own. The speakers regret having made a worse exchange, giving up the boot and the better horse, and declare that they will proclaim this at the cross. In celebration, the speaker says he will be full while the coggie, or drinking vessel, will be empty.
By Robert Burns · First published 1792 · Genre: Political Song, Scottish Folk Song, Lyric Poetry · 196 words
First lines
Chorus. -Carle, an the King come, / Carle, an the King come, / Thou shalt dance and I will sing, / Carle, an the King come.
An somebody were come again, / Then somebody maun cross the main, / And every man shall hae his ain, / Carle, an the King come. / Carle, an the King come, &c.
I trow we swapped for the worse, / We gae the boot and better horse; / And that we'll tell them at the cross, / Carle, an the King come. / Carle, an the King come, &c.
Coggie, an the King come, / Coggie, an the King come, / I'se be fou, and thou'se be toom / Coggie, an the King come. / Coggie, an the King come, &c.
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Genres
- Political Song — The lyric expresses popular hope for the return of an absent king and criticizes a political exchange 'for the worse,' making restorationist politics its central subject.
- Scottish Folk Song — Its repeated chorus, communal voice, dialect, and singable strophic form closely follow the conventions of traditional Scottish popular song.
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a short, musical poem organized around refrain, rhythm, and collective emotional expression rather than narrative development.
- Restorationist Song — The anticipated arrival of the king and the reference to someone crossing the sea align the poem with songs celebrating or longing for monarchical restoration.
Tags
Scottish song · vernacular Scots · political satire · royalist sentiment · anticipated king's return · restoration politics · public celebration · dancing · singing · drinking song · communal chorus · refrain
What this Textopian page supports
Carle, an the King Come is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1792 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: 1792 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Political Song, Scottish Folk Song, Lyric Poetry, Restorationist Song, Political Satire
- Length: 196 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
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- Work identity for Carle, an the King Come by Robert Burns
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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