Volume I, song 045, page 45 - 'Tarry Woo' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Tarry woo, O tarry woo, Tarry woo is ill to spin; Card it well, oh Card it well, Card it well ere ye begin. When 'tis carded, row'd, and spun, Then the work is haflens done; But when woven, dreft, and clean, It may be cleading for a Queen.' 'Cleading' is Scots for clothing or clothes. 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. In his notes on the 'Museum', Burns commented that this was 'a very pretty song'. He believed that the first half stanza and the tune were much older than the rest of the song. It appeared in a number of earlier collections of Scottish song including Ramsay's 'Tea-Table Miscellany' (1724-7) and, according to Glen (1900), was later modified into the more modern tune of 'Lewie Gordon' (song no 86 in the 'Museum').

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503240

Title

Volume I, song 045, page 45 - 'Tarry Woo' - 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

- 130 x 211 mm