John Anderson, my Jo by Robert Burns
“John Anderson, my jo” reflects affectionately on a lifelong partnership. The speaker remembers when John’s hair was dark “like the raven” and his brow handsome, then contrasts that youth with his present bald brow and snow-white locks. Rather than regretting age, the speaker blesses his “frosty pow” with tenderness. The pair have climbed life’s hill together and shared many happy days. Now, as they must totter down the other side, they will remain hand in hand and sleep together at the foot of the hill.
By Robert Burns · First published 1790 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Scottish Poetry · 157 words
First lines
John Anderson, my jo, John, / When we were first acquent; / Your locks were like the raven, / Your bonie brow was brent; / But now your brow is beld, John, / Your locks are like the snaw; / But blessings on your frosty pow, / John Anderson, my jo.
John Anderson, my jo, John, / We clamb the hill thegither; / And mony a cantie day, John, / We've had wi' ane anither: / Now we maun totter down, John, / And hand in hand we'll go, / And sleep thegither at the foot, / John Anderson, my jo.
What this Textopian page supports
John Anderson, my Jo is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1790 CE.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: 1790 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Scottish Poetry, Ballad, Marriage Poetry
- Length: 157 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — A short, musical first-person poem expressing intimate personal feeling through regular stanzas, rhyme, repetition, and songlike address.
- Love Poetry — The speaker affectionately recalls a lifelong marriage or partnership and affirms enduring devotion to John Anderson.
- Scottish Poetry — Burns uses Scots vocabulary and idiom, including 'jo,' 'braw,' 'snaw,' 'thegither,' and 'cantie,' grounding the poem in Scottish literary and vernacular tradition.
- Ballad — Its simple stanzaic form, refrain-like repeated address, musical cadence, and accessible narrative movement give it strong ballad-song qualities.
Tags
Scottish vernacular poetry · lyric poem · love poetry · marital affection · lifelong partnership · old age · aging · devotion · companionship · shared life · memory of youth · physical decline