Volume IV, song 397. Page 410 - 'As I went out ae May morning' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'As I went out, ae May morning, A May morning it chanc'd to be; There I was aware of a weelfar'd maid Cam linkin o'er the lea to me.' 'Weelfar'd' is most probably 'weel-fardy', which is Scots for well-favoured. 'Linkin' is 'to trip along' or 'to stride' and 'lea' is 'grass'. 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. Although Burns is not credited with writing this particular song, he is generally believed to have revised it for inclusion in the 'Museum'. Whilst Burns was the author of a large number of the songs included by Jonhson, it is worth remembering that a large part of his involvement was also revising existing songs. As a result, the line between those he wrote and those he merely revised has become rather blurred. It is John Glen's opinion, in 'Early Scottish Melodies' (1900), that neither the song nor melody appeared in any collection prior to Johnson's. In fact, Glen goes even further stating that the tune 'appears to be a mongrel. The latter half of it is a palpable plagiarism of 'When the King cam' o'er the Water'.'

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503592

Title

Volume IV, song 397. Page 410 - 'As I went out ae May morning' - 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