Volume V, song 424, page 437 - 'The rowin't in her apron' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Our young lady's a huntin gane, Sheets nor blankets has she taen, But shes born her auld son or she cam hame, And she's row'd him in her apron.' 'Gane' is 'gone' and 'or' means 'before'. 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 John Glen, in 'Early Scottish Melodies' (1900), 'The Museum is the first source in which we find this air, whether it be old or modern.' Glen talks of a melody entitled 'Shoe row'd it in hir apron', which appeared in a Manuscript 'of Charles II's time'. It is not, however, the same tune as that given in the 'Museum'. It is thought that Burns provided Johnson with the music and words for inclusion. Whether he revised or expanded the song, however, is not known.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503619

Title

Volume V, song 424, page 437 - 'The rowin't in her apron' - 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

- 129 x 211 mm