One of the fascinating features of reciting or singing Robert Burns' poetry or songs, is the look of confusion on the faces of the (normally English) audiences when faced with Burns' language. Since we often do recitals/talks on Burns in order to promote our CD of love songs, Burns, Banks and Braes, we are used to the bemused looks, even if, as in "Tae a Mouse" there are large sections of standard English.
For this reason, before I relate "Tae a Meerkat", it is probably best if I outline a little about the background, for the benefit of those outside the UK who don't have our TV adverts over here. There is a long standing advertising campaign, here where Meerkats, wearing clothes, and speaking in Russian accents, are confused about the differences between comparethemeerkat.com and comparethemarket.com If you go on to Youtube and enter "compare" and "Meerkat" you'll see lots of examples.
Anyway, if Burns were alive today, he would probably be annoyed at the injustice of having these Meerkats having to move from Africa to central Europe to advertise a web site. And his poem would probably go like this
Tae a Meerkat
Oh Meerkat are you nae aware noo
Wi' what they TV folks compare you?
And does it never ever scare you,
How you are seen?
A furry Russian creature
On the screen
Oh meerkat you would never roam
Sae many miles away from home
A' dressed up like a garden gnome,
It's just no joke
So sair abused - enough tae
Make you boke
But meerkat hear noo whit I say
They TV men will rue this day
I've called the R.S.P.C.A,
Wi' all their sources
Wait till they feel the weight
O' meerkat forces!
Hardly worth waiting for, was it?
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