Epitaph for James Smith
Lament him, Mauchline husbands a',
He aften did assist ye;
For had ye staid hale weeks awa,
Your wives they ne'er had miss'd ye.
Ye Mauchline bairns, as on ye press
To school in bands thegither,
O tread ye lightly on his grass, -
Perhaps he was your faither!
Robert Burns spent four years in Mauchline, some say amongst his most formative. He met and married Jean Armour, his 'Bonny Jean,' and would have known all the citizens of this small village, including James Smith and the wives around the town! I will think of Rabbie as I partake of my tinned Haggis tonight!
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