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Description: | Verse 1 (to the tune of 'Morag') - 'Loud blaw the frosty breezes, The snaws the mountains cover, Like winter on me seizes, Since, my young Highland Rover Far wanders nations over.' Chorus: 'Where e'er he go, where'er he stray, May Heaven be his warden: Return him safe to fair Strathspey, And bonie Castle Gordon!'
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.
The particular song was written, revised or collected for the 'Museum' by Burns. Although Burns is credited here with writing it, the information provided by Johnson in the 'Museum' was not always accurate. Johnson often attributed a song revised by Burns as having been written by him. A more reliable source of information is the 'Index of songs contributed by Burns's included in Donald A. Low's edition of the 'Museum' (1991). Finally, it is worth mentioning that the tune to accompany this song was published in Daniel Dow's 'Collection of Ancient Scots Music' (c.1778), approximately ten years before its inclusion in the 'Museum'. | 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 143, page 150 - 'The you | Go to resource |
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