Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics
215 / 519
Public-domain lyrics

Letter to John Goudie, Kilmarnock

Robert Burns

“Letter to John Goudie, Kilmarnock” as printed in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887).

Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics Text 215 1887 · historical text
Public domainScottish songSong lyrics
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Poetical Works of Robert Burns, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

O Goudie! terror o' the Whigs,

Dread o' black coats and rev'rend wigs,

Sour Bigotry, on her last legs,

Girnin' looks back,

Wishin' the ten Egyptian plagues

Wad seize you quick.

Verse 2

Poor gapin' glowrin' Superstition,

Waes me! she's in a sad condition;

Fy, bring Black-Jock, her state physician,

To see her water;

Alas! there's ground o' great suspicion

She'll ne'er get better.

Verse 3

Auld Orthodoxy lang did grapple,

But now she's got an unco' ripple;

Haste, gie her name up i' the chapel,

Nigh unto death;

See how she fetches at the thrapple,

An' gasps for breath.

Verse 4

Enthusiasm's past redemption,

Gaen in a galloping consumption,

Not a' the quacks, with a' their gumption,

Will ever mend her,

Her feeble pulse gies strong presumption,

Death soon will end her.

Verse 5

'Tis you and Taylor are the chief,

Wha are to blame for this mischief;

But gin the Lord's ain folks gat leave,

A toom tar-barrel

An' twa red peats wad send relief,

An' end the quarrel.

Credits

Written by Robert Burns

Words by Robert Burns. Historical text published in The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Poetical Works of Robert Burns (1887), “Letter to John Goudie, Kilmarnock”

Every text in this 1887 collected edition is by Robert Burns (1759-1796), who died more than 230 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide; the edition carries a Wikisource PD-old determination and a pre-1931 United States publication.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-25. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
Keep tracing

More from Robert Burns: Collected Lyrics.

01A Rose-budPublic-domain lyrics02A red, red RosePublic-domain lyrics03Address to a LadyPublic-domain lyrics04AdieuPublic-domain lyrics