An just as wud as wud can be
How easy can the barley-brie
Cement the quarrel!
It's aye the cheapest lawyer's fee,
To taste the barrel.
Robert Burns
Robert, born in Alloway on 25th January, 1759, was the eldest of seven children of William Burnes, a market gardener from Kirkoswald. William Burnes (his children dropped the "e" from the name) acquired 7.5 acres of land in Alloway and with his own hands built on it a cottage of whitewashed clay walls- "The Auld Clay Biggin".
In 1776 when Robert was only seven his father rented a small farm 1.5 miles away at Mount Oliphant and the family moved there. Robert grew up to a life of toil, hardship and poverty. But his father saw to it that his sons were well educated. Robert read all the books he could and developed a remarkable command of literary English. The other great influence on him was folk-song. His mother knew and sang many old songs, although she could not read.