Volume IV, song 340, page 350 - 'The tears I shed &c.' - 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 tears I shed must ever fall, I mourn not for an absent swain, For thought may past delights recall, And parted lovers meet again I weep not for the silent dead, their toils are past, their sorrows o'er, And those they lov'd their steps shall tread, And death shall join and death shall join to part no more.' 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 lyrics to this song were composed by Helen D'Arcy Cranstoun. She was the granddaughter of the 5th Lord Cranstoun and eventually became Professor Dugald Stewart's second wife. Her brother, Henry Kerr, his wife Mary Ann Whitefoord and her family in turn formed a social and business clique with which Burns enjoyed a meaningful friendship. Burns commented in his personal notes on the songs, 'this song composed by a Miss Cranston. It wanted four lines to make all the stanzas suit the music, which I added, and the four first of the last stanza'. The melody of the song is thought to be English and composed by John Barret. The title of the melody is 'Anthy the lovely' and was first published by Oswald in his 'Caledonian Pocket Companion', book 9.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503536

Title

Volume IV, song 340, page 350 - 'The tears I shed &c.' - 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