Volume V, song 434, page 446 - 'Leezie Lindsay' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Will ye go to the Highlands Leezie Lindsay, Will ye go to the Highlands wi' me Will ye go to the Highlands Leezie Lindsay My pride and darling to be.' 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. It has been suggested that the words to this tune were written by Burns but it was recorded at the time that Burns simply communicated the words to Johnson. It has also been suggested that the tune has a Highland origin, but there are very few demonstrable Highland characteristics displayed here. The words are also probably of Lowland origin. The surname Lindsay has strong connections with the south-west of Scotland and the song probably reflects the awareness of north-south divide across Scotland which industrialism was beginning to create.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503628

Title

Volume V, song 434, page 446 - 'Leezie Lindsay' - 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