Sweet Afton is a lyrical poem describing the Afton Water

River Afton

The River Afton is a small river in Ayrshire, Scotland. which flows North from Alwhat Hill in the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills, through Afton Reservoir and then for eight miles down Glen Afton before joining the River Nith at New Cumnock.The river is memorialised in Robert Burns's poem and this led...

 in Ayrshire

Ayrshire

Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It was written by Robert Burns

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...

 in 1791 and set to music by Jonathan E. Spilman

Jonathan E. Spilman

Jonathan Edwards Spilman was a Kentucky lawyer, minister, and composer.Jonathan Spilman was born in Greenville, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky to Benjamin Spilman, and graduated from Illinois College in 1835. He was married to Mary V.J. Menefee, who died precociously in 1843...

 in 1837, under the title "Flow gently, sweet Afton". Many artists have performed it over the years since it was written, including the progressive acoustic

Progressive bluegrass

Progressive bluegrass is one of two major subgenres of bluegrass music. It is also known as newgrass, a term attributed to New Grass Revival member Ebo Walker. Musicians and bands John Hartford, New Grass Revival, J.D. Crowe and the New South, The Dillards, Boone Creek, Country Gazette, and the...

 trio Nickel Creek

Nickel Creek

Nickel Creek was an American progressive acoustic music trio consisting of Chris Thile , Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins . The band was founded in 1989 and released 6 albums between 1993 and 2006...

in 2000.

Sweet Afton contains a lot of monosyllables, which contribute to a gentle, soothing rhythm. It can be seen as a hymn for peace. The poem is in the metre 11 - 11 - 11- 11, and is often sung to the tune of the popular Christmas carol

Christmas carol

A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...

 Away in a Manger

Away in a Manger

"Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in 1885 in Philadelphia and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain it is one of the most popular carols, a 1996 Gallup Poll ranking it joint second.-History of the lyrics:...

called Cradle Song.

In the town of New Cumnock

New Cumnock

New Cumnock is a place in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It expanded during the coal mining era but, like so many others, suffered after the deep shaft pits closed in the 1980's...

 in East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...

 there is a bridge across Afton Water on the A76

A76 road

The A76 is a major trunk road in south west Scotland.Starting at Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire, the A76 goes through or immediately by-passes Hurlford, Mauchline, Cumnock, Pathhead and New Cumnock before entering Dumfries and Galloway and continuing through Sanquhar, Mennock, Enterkinfoot,...

 upon which there is a plaque commemorating Robert Burns and this great poem.
The Afton of New Cumnock, gives its name to the Glen of Afton, which has connections with: William Wallace, Robert Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots (1568) and Robert Burns. The Wallace seal attached to the Lubeck Letter of 1297 gives substance to the theory that Wallaces father was from Kyle Regis (this area) and a rock formation "up the glen" is named Castle William, supposedly after the Scottish patriot's fortification.

The Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

-based tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 manufacturer W.D. & H.O. Wills

W.D. & H.O. Wills

W.D. & H.O. Wills was a British tobacco importer and cigarette manufacturer formed in Bristol, England. It was one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco.-History:...

 marketed cigarette

Cigarette

A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...

s under the brand

Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

-name Sweet Afton. The original manufacturer was the Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

company P.J. Carroll.