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Description: | Verse 1 (to the tune of 'Highland Lamentation'): 'Amidst a rosy bank of flowers, Young Damon mourn'd his forlorn fate, In sighs he spent his languid hours, And breath'd his woes in lonely state. Gay joy no more shall ease his mind, No wanton sports can sooth his care, Since sweet Amanda prov'd unkind, And left him full of black despair.
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.
Burns has noted a brief comment, 'This air is by Oswald', in his personal notes. This song can be found in James Oswald's 'Caledonian Pocket Companion, book three'. The lyrics are supposed to have been adapted for their publication in the 'Museum' by Robert Fergusson, whilst the melody is believed to have been inspired by the Jacobite defeat at Culloden in 1746. | 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 178, page 186 - 'Young D | Go to resource |
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