Red, red rose burns bright for Dylan

THE legendary Bob Dylan has written more than 500 songs and sold 57 million albums. He was born Robert Zimmerman but changed his name to that of his literary hero, the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Now it transpires that he has another Celtic inspiration – Robert Burns. When asked which lyric has had the biggest effect on his life, Dylan named Burns's "My love is like a red, red rose", dating from 1794.

Dylan's choice should serve to remind us that Burns was much more than a poet. According to Professor Fred Freeman, who produced the Complete Songs of Robert Burns CDs for Linn Records: "Burns has been grossly misrepresented. He was primarily a song...