Volume IV, song 337, page 347 - 'Wha' is that at my bower...
Volume IV, song 337, page 347 - 'Wha' is that at my bower door' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'Wha is that at my bower door? O wha is it but Findlay. Then gae your gate yese nae be here! Indeed maun I, quo' Findlay. /What mak ye, Sae like a thief. O come and see, quo' Findlay; Before the morn ye'll work mischief; Indeed I will quo Findlay.'
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 commented in his notes on the 'Museum', 'This tune is also known by the name of, 'Lass an I come near thee''. This tune was first published in 1782 by Aird in his 'Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs'. It is, however, believed by some to be older. The words are not attributed to Burns in the 'Museum' but this has not always proved to be reliable, and Burns is now believed to have written the lyrics. Certainly Burns's reputation as a womanizer is well-known and this style of moral lesson was popular amongst folk songs.
Volume IV, song 337, page 347 - 'Wha' is that at my bower door' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)