027 Cock Up Your Beaver
1．
When first my brave Johnie lad came to this town,
He had a blue bonnet that wanted the crown,
But now he has gotten a hat and a feather—
Hey, brave Johnie lad, cock up your beaver!
2．
Cock up your beaver, and cock it fu' sprush!
We'll over the border and gie them a brush:
There's somebody there we'll teach better behavior—
Hey, brave Johnie lad, cock up your beaver!
Notes
Title Cock Up Your Beaver：Cock Up Your Top Hat
This poem was written by Robert Burns in Scottish dialect in 1792 and the “beaver” means a top hat. It was based on an old song named as “Johnny, cock up thy Beaver”. The original version of the song was English. The song, originally hand-written by Burns, is now in the Scots Musical Museum.
Stanza 1
Line 2 bonnet: soft hat
Line 4 cock up: adorn; beaver: top hat
Stanza 2
Line 1 Cock: in the sense of this term, means “stand up conspicuously”, “turn up at the edge”, “bend at an angle”, etc. In the 17th and 18th centuries, people were also often advised to “cock-up” their bonnets.
fu' sprush: orderly and neat
Line 2 gie: give