The Arts In Berwick -- Ballads and Poems
Robert Burns

Celebrated Scots poet Robert Burns (1759-96) spent a day in Berwick in 1787. He records in his journal:- "An idle town, but rudely picturesque. Met Lord Errol in walking around the walls. Dine with Mr.Clunzie, merchant. Nothing particular in company or conversation". Perhaps it was to enliven the conversation that Burns invented the famous verse:-

Berwick is an ancient town
A church without a steeple;
A pretty girl at every door;
And very generous people.

or

Berwick is a dirty town.
A church without a steeple;
There's a midden at every door
God curse all the people

Or one of the two other versions claimed to be the original...... Burns also contributed to The Merry Muses of Calendonia (1800) which contains the bawdy poem Tweedmouth Town.

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