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Description: | Verse 1 (sung by Patie): 'By the delicious warmness of thy mouth, And rowing eyes that smiling tell the truth I guess my lassie, that, as well as I, You're made for love; and Why should you deny.' Verse 2 (sung by Peggy): 'But ken ye, lad, gin we confess o'er soon, Ye think us cheap, and syne the wooing's done: The maiden that o'er quickly tines her power, Like unripe fruit, will taste but hard and sow'r.' Song 254 (sung by both): 'Sun gallop down the westlin' skies, Gang soon to bed, and quickly rise, O lash your steeds post time away, And haste about our bridal day! And if ye're wearied, honest light, Sleep, gin ye like, a week that night, And if ye're wearied, honest light, Sleep gin ye like, a week that night.'
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 melody to this piece is not thought to be particularly Scottish, and it does not appear in print until 1726, in Ramsay's 'Tea-Table Miscellany' (1724-7). Whilst the song is thought to be linked to Ramsay, perhaps written by one of his friends, it is not thought to be by him. This style of 'pastoral' tune was popular at the time. They were set in the countryside, involved rural workers and idealised country life. This song is particularly effective as the characters are given animation by their stage directions. | 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 III, song 253 and 254, pages 262 | Go to resource |
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