Excerpt from My Father was a Farmer
Robert Burns

My father was a farmer upon the Carrick border, O,
And carefully he bred me in decency and order, O;
He bade me act a manly part, though I had never a farthing, O;
For without an honest manly heart, no man was worth regarding, O.

Then out into the world my course I did determine, O;
Tho’ to be rich was not my wish, yet to be great was charming, O:
My talents they were not the worst, nor yet my education, O;
Resolved was I, at least to try, to mend my situation, O.

In many a way, and vain essay, I courted fortune’s favour, O;
Some cause unseen still stept between to frustrate each endeavour, O:
Sometimes by foes I was overpowered, sometimes by friends forsaken, O,
And when my hope was at the top, I still was worst mistaken, O.


One characteristic that makes this a ballad is...

A) the author teaches a lesson in the poem.
B) the author follows a specific formula of meter.
C) the author speaks directly to readers in the poem.
D) the author talks about a specific place in the poem.