Context

Luve?

Yeah, the first time we read this, we though we were learning about a new part of the anatomy. But as it turns out, that's Robert Burns for "love." 

"A Red, Red Rose" is a sap of a song if we ever heard one. Oh yeah, it's a song. Burns was pretty big on preserving traditional Scottish songs and folktales, many of which he had nothing to do with writing. Luckily, his experience as a farm-laborer familiarized him with the lore of rural Scotland, and as a result he was asked to contribute to Pietro Urbani's Selections of Scots Songs, published in 1794.

"A Red, Red Rose" first appeared in print in Urbani's volume, but it had been around for quite some time before the collection: the poem's phrases and ideas can be found in any number of other "songs" popular in Scotland before and during Burns's lifetime. Burns, of course, put his own spin on it, and it's gone down in history as his work.

Where you've heard it

This song has been covered by dozens of people, from Eva Cassidy to Carly Simon.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Trying to pull off the Scottish Luve when you're...not Scottish...won't win you any points in our book.