Volume III, song 275, page 284 - 'Todlen Hame' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'When I have a saxpence under my thum', Then I'll get credit in ilka town: But ay when I'm poor they bid me gae by; O! poverty parts good company.' Chorus: 'Todlen hame, todlen hame, O! Cou'dna my love come todlen hame.' 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. According to Burns, in his notes on the 'Museum', 'This is perhaps the first bottle song that ever was composed'. When Burns writes of a 'bottle song', he is probably referring to the drinking songs that were commonly sung in taverns and inns. Whilst many drinking songs were light-hearted and humorous, some had a political edge. Prior to its inclusion in the 'Museum', this song appeared in Allan Ramsay's 'Tea-Table Miscellany' (1924-7). Glen (1900) notes that over the years the tune has gone through a number changes and has been known under different titles, including 'Armstrong's Farewell', 'Robie donna gorrach' and 'Lord Douglas's Lament'.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503471

Title

Volume III, song 275, page 284 - 'Todlen Hame' - 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

- 132 x 211 mm