Ode To Ayr and other Poems

Likewise your beautiful bridges across the River Clyde, And on your bonnie banks I would like to reside.

William McGonagall

Chorus — Then away to the west — to the beautiful west! To the fair city of Glasgow that I like the best, Where the River Clyde rolls on to the sea, And the lark and the blackbird whistle with glee. And as for the statue of Sir Walter Scott that stands in George Square, It is a handsome statue — few with it can compare, And most elegant to be seen, And close beside it stands the statue of Her Majesty the Queen.

Then as for Kelvin Grove, it is most lovely to be seen With its beautiful flowers and trees so green, And a magnificent water-fountain spouting up very high, Where the people can quench their thirst when they feel dry. I have mixed with all kinds of people — of low and high degree, But the most unmannerly people are the people of Dundee. Beautiful city of Glasgow, I now conclude my muse, And to write in praise of thee my pen does not refuse; And, without fear of contradiction, I will venture to say You are the second grandest city in Scotland at the present day!

The beautiful fourth line—. It is to hoped that Glasgow will show a greater appreciation of poetic genius a la McGonagall than the unregenerate city Dundee. By the s, McGonagall and his family were struggling. Work as a weaver was more difficult to find and his oldest daughter shamed the family by giving birth to an illegitimate child.

BBC - Robert Burns - A-Z list of all works

The most startling incident in my life was the time I discovered myself to be a poet, which was in the year McGonagall claimed he was inspired to become a poet when he "seemed to feel a strange kind of feeling stealing over [him], and remained so for about five minutes. A flame, as Lord Byron said, seemed to kindle up [his] entire frame, along with a strong desire to write poetry. George Gilfillan ", displaying the hallmarks that would characterise his work.

Gilfillan, himself an untrained and poorly-reviewed polemic Christian preacher who occasionally dabbled in poetry, commented admiringly "Shakespeare never wrote anything like this. McGonagall realised if he were to succeed as a poet, he required a patron and wrote to Queen Victoria.

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• The Severed Wing.
• William McGonagall - Wikipedia.
• Kleine Flügel machen Freunde - LESEPROBE (German Edition).

He received a letter of rejection, written by a royal functionary, thanking him for his interest. During a trip to Dunfermline in , he was mocked by the Chief Templar, who told him his poetry was very bad. The letter gave McGonagall confidence in his "poetic abilities", and he felt his reputation could be enhanced further if he were to give a live performance before the Queen. When he arrived, he announced himself as "The Queen's Poet". The guards informed him "You're not the Queen's poet! Tennyson is the Queen's poet!

McGonagall presented the letter but was refused entry and had to return home. Throughout his life McGonagall campaigned against excessive drinking, appearing in pubs and bars to give edifying poems and speeches. These were popular, the people of Dundee possibly recognising that McGonagall was "so giftedly bad he backed unwittingly into genius". In he celebrated the official opening of University College, Dundee with the poem "The Inauguration of University College Dundee" which opened with the stanza: Good people of Dundee, your voices raise, And to Miss Baxter give great praise; Rejoice and sing and dance with glee, Because she has founded a college in Bonnie Dundee.

McGonagall constantly struggled with money and earned money by selling his poems in the streets, or reciting them in halls, theatres and public houses.

When he was in periods of financial insecurity, his friends supported him with donations. In both instances, he returned unsuccessful. He found lucrative work performing his poetry at a local circus. He read his poems while the crowd was permitted to pelt him with eggs, flour, herrings, potatoes and stale bread. For this, he received fifteen shillings a night.

Contributed to the “Ayrshire Post” by Sir William Topaz McGonagall, 24th April 1897

McGonagall seemed happy with this arrangement, but the events became so raucous that the city magistrates were forced to put a ban on them. Fellow citizens of Bonnie Dundee Are ye aware how the magistrates have treated me? Nay, do not stare or make a fuss When I tell ye they have boycotted me from appearing in Royal Circus, Which in my opinion is a great shame, And a dishonour to the city's name Throughout his life McGonagall seemed oblivious to the general opinion of his poems, even when his audience were pelting him with eggs and vegetables.

Author Norman Watson speculates in his biography of McGonagall that he may have been on the " autism-Asperger's spectrum ". Christopher Hart , writing in The Sunday Times , says that this seems "likely".

An Ode to the Immortal Bard of Ayr, Robert Burns

In , McGonagall was in dire straits financially. To help him, his friends funded the publication of a collection of his work, Poetic Gems. The proceeds provided McGonagall with enough money to live on for a time. The E-mail Address es you entered is are not in a valid format. Please re-enter recipient e-mail address es. You may send this item to up to five recipients.

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