|
Date: |
|
Description: | Verse 1: 'The Chevalier, being void of fear, Did march up Brislie brae, man, And thro' Tranent, e'er he did stent, As fast as he could gae, man: While Gen'ral Cope did taunt and mock, Wi' mony a loud huzza, man, But e'er next morn proclaim'd the cock, We heard another craw man.' 'Stent' in this context is to place something or someone, with the implication of being overstretched or overtaxed.
The 'Scots Musical Museum' is the most important of the numerous eighteenth- and nineteenth-century collections of Scottish song. When the engraver James Johnson started work on the second volume of his collection in 1787, he enlisted Robert Burns as contributor and editor. Burns enthusiastically collected songs from various sources, often expanding or revising them, whilst including much of his own work. The resulting combination of innovation and antiquarianism gives the work a feel of living tradition.
General Cope refers to Lieutenant General Sir John Cope who was sent to Scotland, after the Government heard of the Jacobite Rebellion, and put in charge of 3,000 government troops. Burns believed this song was written by Mr Skirvan, a farmer from Haddington. He also heard a story about the Lieutenant Smith mentioned in the ninth stanza, in which Mr Smith demanded that Mr Skirvan present himself and explain his portrayal of Mr Smith. Mr Skirvan refused and further insulted Mr Smith by referring to his cowardice again. The tune to this piece was first written down in 1694 and goes by the alternative names of 'The Battle of Killicrankie', 'Gillicrankie' or 'Atkinson'. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 | Publisher: | National Library of Scotland | Temporal: | 1787-01-01 - 1803-12-31 | Source: | Burns Scotland | Identifier: | Volume II, song 102, pages 103 and 104 - | Go to resource |
|
|