Sweet Afton
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"Sweet Afton" is a lyrical poem describing the Afton Water in Ayrshire, Scotland. It was written by Robert Burns in 1791.[1] The poem was first published as a song in the Scots Musical Museum (1787-1803) and this is the best known version as sung throughout Scotland. The poem is also known as a song set to music in 1837 in the USA by Jonathan E. Spilman; however, this is not the melody sung in Scotland.[2]
"Sweet Afton" contains a number of monosyllables, which contribute to a gentle, soothing rhythm. It can be seen as a hymn for peace. The poem is in the metre 11 - 11 - 11- 11. The University of South Carolina uses the 1837 Spilman melody for their alma mater, "We Hail Thee Carolina".
The song is sung by Mary Bennett (played by Marsha Hunt) in the 1940 film version of Pride and Prejudice.[3] It is also mentioned in Chapter IX of MacKinlay Kantor's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Andersonville (1955). In the Andy Griffith Show episode “Mayberry Goes Hollywood” (1961) a citizen of Mayberry sings “Sweet Afton” to serenade a visiting Hollywood film producer.
In the town of New Cumnock in East Ayrshire there is a bridge across Afton Water on the A76 upon which there is a plaque commemorating Robert Burns and his poem.
The River Afton of New Cumnock gives its name to Glen Afton through which the river runs, which has connections with William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots (1568), and Robert Burns. The Wallace seal attached to the Lubeck Letter of 1297 gives substance to the theory that Wallace's father was from Kyle Regis (this area) and a rock formation "up the glen" is named Castle William, supposedly after the Scottish patriot's fortification.
References
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)
- Digitised copy of Afton water in James Johnson's Scots Musical Museum, printed between 1787 and 1803, from National Library of Scotland. JPEG, PDF, XML versions.
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- "Sweet Afton" (1791)
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- "A Man's A Man for A' That" (1795)
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- Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect
- Edinburgh
- Belfast
- Dublin Variant
- London
- Jean Armour (wife)
- Robert Burns Junior (son)
- Francis Wallace Burns (son)
- William Nicol Burns (son)
- Elizabeth 'Betty' Burns (natural daughter)
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- William Burnes (father)
- Gilbert Burns (brother)
- Agnes Burns (sister)
- Annabella Burns (sister)
- William Burns (brother)
- John Burns (brother)
- Isabella Burns (sister)
- Adam Armour (brother-in-law)
- James Armour (father-in-law)
- Robert Burnes (uncle)
- Robert Aiken
- Robert Ainslie
- John Anderson
- John Bacon (landlord)
- John Ballantine
- Alison Begbie
- Thomas Blacklock
- Nelly Blair
- Richard Brown
- May Cameron
- Mary Campbell
- Margaret Chalmers
- Jenny Clow
- Alison Cockburn
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- Lord Glencairn
- Frances Dunlop
- Robert Fergusson
- Alexander Findlater
- Jean Gardner
- Jean Glover
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- Helen Hyslop
- Nelly Kilpatrick
- John Lewars
- Janet Little
- Jean Lorimer (Chloris)
- James McKie
- John MacKenzie
- Agnes Maclehose
- John McMurdo
- William Maxwell
- John Murdoch
- William Nicol
- Anna Park
- Elizabeth Paton
- John Richmond
- James Smith
- David Sillar
- John Syme
- Alexander Tait
- Robert Tannahill
- Peggy Thompson
- Edward Whigham
- The Geddes Burns
- Glenriddell Manuscripts
- Bachelors' Club, Tarbolton
- Burns Clubs
- Robert Burns World Federation
- Bust of Robert Burns
- Burns supper
- Memorials
- Kilmarnock
- Robert Burns's Commonplace Book 1783–1785
- Robert Burns's Interleaved Scots Musical Museum
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- Barre
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- Robert Burns (Stevenson)
- Robert Burns (Steell)
- Robert Burns's diamond point engravings
- Robert Burns and the Eglinton Estate
- Robert Burns Humanitarian Award
- The Loves of Robert Burns (1930 film)
- "The Marriage of Robin Redbreast and the Wren"
- "The Merry Muses of Caledonia"
- The Poetical Works of Janet Little, The Scotch Milkmaid
- A Manual of Religious Belief
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