Volume V, song 419, pages 431 and 432 - 'The Duke of Gordon has three daughters' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'The Duke of Gordon has three daughters Elizabeth, Margaret, and Jean; They would na' stay in bonny Castle Gordon, But they would go to bonny Aberdeen.' It is worth noting that this song is also known under the name, 'The Duke of Gordon's Daughter'. 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. Unfortunately, there is little information available on this traditional ballad. As part of the oral tradition, it is fairly typical to find little or no information on the origins of a ballad or folk song. Their essence and appeal lies in the singing and the subsequent passing from generation to generation and place to place down through the years, with many interesting variations appearing along the way. Although it is unclear what the original melody to accompany this ballad was, Glen (1900) suggests that the tune known as 'Gordon Castle', which appeared in William McGibbon's 'Second Collection of Scots Tunes' (1746), is a possible candidate.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503614

Title

Volume V, song 419, pages 431 and 432 - 'The Duke of Gordon has three daughters' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Object Type

PhysicalObject

Measurements

- 258 x 211 mm