Lyric Poem · Love

The Rantin Dog, the Daddie o’t

by Robert Burns

Reading room

1O WHA my babie-clouts will buy?

2O wha will tent me when I cry?

3Wha will kiss me where I lie?

4 The rantin’ dog, the daddie o’t.

5O wha will own he did the faut?

6O wha will buy the groanin maut?

7O wha will tell me how to ca’t?

8 The rantin’ dog, the daddie o’t.

9When I mount the creepie-chair,

10Wha will sit beside me there?

11Gie me Rob, I’ll seek nae mair,

12 The rantin’ dog, the daddie o’t.

13Wha will crack to me my lane?

14Wha will mak me fidgin’ fain?

15Wha will kiss me o’er again?

16 The rantin’ dog, the daddie o’t.

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“The Rantin Dog, the Daddie o’t” by Robert Burns — quilloak.com/poems/the-rantin-dog-the-daddie-ot

Quick facts

Poem: The Rantin Dog, the Daddie o’t
Poet: Robert Burns
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Love

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 16 lines · 4 quatrains
Line length: Lines run 7-8 syllables (median 8), consistent with tetrameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
Refrain: “The rantin’ dog, the daddie o’t.”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.

The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: Robert Burns1759–1796
Source record: PoetryDBThe Rantin Dog, the Daddie o’t by robert-burns, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 affb709bda8da827…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Love

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