Volume IV, song 382, page 396 - 'Ay Waking oh!' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Ay waking oh! waking ay and wearie Sleep, I can na' get For thinking on my dearie. When I sleep I dream; When I wake I'm irie, Rest I can na get, For thinking o' my dearie.' 'Irie' is Scots for gloomy or melancholic. 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 note in the top left-hand corner of the page refers to song 213 in the 'Museum', 'Ay waukin O'. According to John Glen (1900), the version seen here was 'received by Mr Stephen Clarke from Captain R(obert) Riddell of Glenriddell'. Stephen Clarke (d. 1797) was Johnson's musical arranger on the 'Museum' and Robert Riddell (1755-94) was a friend of Burns and fellow commentator on, and contributor to, the 'Museum'.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503577

Title

Volume IV, song 382, page 396 - 'Ay Waking oh!' - 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