Wedding reading
A Red, Red Rose
Robert Burns
“A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns is a poem read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about 45 seconds read aloud, usually by a guest reader. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
O my Luve is like a red, red rose That's newly sprung in June; O my Luve is like the melody That's sweetly played in tune. As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will luve thee still, my dear, Till a' the seas gang dry. Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi' the sun; I will luve thee still, my dear, While the sands o' life shall run.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
Where it comes from
The 1887 Poetical Works of Robert Burns, edited by Alexander Smith, prints the poem with a tune, “Wishaw’s Favourite”, named under its title.
What it says
The poem starts with two plain comparisons: my love is like a fresh red rose in June and like a tune played sweetly. Then it turns to promise. As beautiful as you are, that is how deeply I love you, and I will keep loving you until the seas dry up, the rocks melt in the sun and the sands of life run out. The promises are impossible on purpose: the seas will not run dry, so the love will not end. It is a song more than an argument, and its strength is how little it tries to explain.
Scots dialect. Give the reader the words in advance so it does not ambush them. Read at a wedding ceremony. Themes: Scottish · plain love · until the seas run dry · short · a reader with an accent.
Who it suits
Scottish families and couples with Scottish roots, ceilidh receptions, and anyone who wants a short, warm, unpretentious love poem. It suits a reader with a Scottish accent especially well, because the dialect sounds natural in that voice. It works at a civil ceremony and at a church wedding alike. Couples who want a reading about marriage itself, rather than about being in love, may want to pair it with something more reflective.
Where it goes in the ceremony
A short opening reading, or the lighter of two readings. Because it is printed with a tune, some couples ask a musician to sing it instead; if so, it can sit wherever music would go, such as during the signing. Read by a friend or relative, ideally one who will enjoy the Scots words.
Reading it aloud
The text on this page is 82 words. At a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, that comes to about 40 seconds of reading.
- Give the reader the text at least a week ahead. “Luve”, “bonnie lass”, “a’ the seas gang dry” and “wi’ the sun” should be practiced aloud until they are comfortable.
- Decide whether to read “luve” as written or as “love”. Either is fine; switching halfway is not.
- The last two verses repeat “till a’ the seas gang dry”. Let the repetition build rather than flattening it, and slow down on the final line about the sands of life.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “A Red, Red Rose” take to read aloud?
“A Red, Red Rose” takes about 45 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “A Red, Red Rose”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “A Red, Red Rose” runs about 45 seconds, which is a manageable amount to hand to a friend or family member. Give them a printed copy of their own, in a size they can read without their glasses, and tell them where to stand and how you will introduce them.
Can “A Red, Red Rose” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- A Birthday30 secondsAnother short, song-like burst of joy
- Song of Solomon 8:6–735 secondsScripture on love that many waters cannot quench
- May the Road Rise Up to Meet You25 secondsA short Celtic blessing for the close of the ceremony
- To My Dear and Loving Husband50 secondsAnne Bradstreet
- from Song of the Open Road25 secondsWalt Whitman
- Sonnet 130a minute and a halfWilliam Shakespeare