Thanks for the link, Steve: my number one Burns song favourite, and I like Dick's version, though I have several friends who also do it very well (even do it myself!) I believe Dick takes the credit for popularising the tune he sings it to: there were a couple of other tunes used before that one, but neither of them as nice or voice-friendly, having rather wide ranges of pitch! Always amazed that Burns wrote the poem when he was only 16 or 17.
Had spent the afternoon with friends, practising our wee set for our Folk Club Burns Night on Tuesday coming: the results of our labours may eventually appear on YouTube after the grand premiere.
My husband was out at one of those all-male Burns suppers last night, while I had my own Burns extravaganza on TV - started with BBC Scotland from 8.30. switching to BBC 4 at 10.30.
The 8.30. Burns Night programme is repeated on BBC 1 this afternoon at 4.35. Bit of a curate's egg - good in parts! Some songs taken too fast, but Elaine C Smith's recitation of Tam o Shanter was excellent. Never heard of quite a few of the performers.
The best programme of the night IMHO was the repeat of the "Robert Burns: the People's Poet" - a programme made in 2009 with Andrew O'Hagan as presenter - a very full biography on BBC 4, lasting an hour and a half until 1 am, but I managed to stay awake. Hubby arrived back in just as it was finishing, with more tales to tell of the night's proceedings.